More changes are expected when the Senate transportation spending bill arrives this week.
One close follower of transportation funding told InsiderAdvantage Georgia that the Senate proposal will be “far different” from House Bill 170, which underwent several rewrites in the House before passing by an unexpectedly wide margin.
Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Tommie Williams, R-Lyons, the Senate bill’s likely author, is expected to include a variety of funding sources to raise the additional $1 billion a year the state reportedly needs to adequately maintain existing roads and bridges.
While Williams favors a single state fuel excise tax as proposed in the House bill, he’s concerned that the 29.2-cents-per-gallon rate is too high. To soften that burden, Williams has mentioned highway user fees such as car tag increases and rental car surcharges.
HB 170’s author, House Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, presented the bill to the Senate committee last week. Questions by Williams and other members indicated that significant changes will come in the upper chamber.
While Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, the Senate majority whip, and Sen. Brandon Beach, R-Alpharetta, expressed support of the House bill, other members had reservations. Gooch and Beach served on the special legislative study committee that produced a widely cited report that came up with the $1 billion figure as the minimum required for new transportation funds.
Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, told Roberts that while he agrees that state needs more funding for roads, he differs from Roberts’ approach. “I don’t want to put our state at a competitive disadvantage,” Jones said.
Jones represents Butts County, which would suffer nearly a $1 million budget deficit under a provision of the House bill in which a special category of local sales taxes could no longer apply to fuel. Although counties would be allowed to raise “LOST” taxes from 1 to 1.25 percent to compensate for the loss of sales tax revenues on fuel, Butts would still face the serious losses.
Sen. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, wondered why the proposed 33-cent-per-gallon excise tax on diesel fuel is so much higher than the gasoline rate. Roberts answered that the gap mirrors federal diesel fuel taxes. Williams said that trucks cause more damage to roads than cars, but Heath insisted that a lower diesel rate would encourage truckers to fill up in Georgia.
If the Senate approves a separate bill, as expected, a conference committee would then fashion a compromise between the two chambers. Gov. Nathan Deal, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, have all called upon the Legislature to increase transportation funding this session.
Opportunity school district considered: Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed constitutional amendment to set up an “opportunity school district” will need a bit of Democratic support to pass the House, as was the case in the Senate.
Sen. Freddie Powell Sims, D-Albany, joined with Senate Republicans to give the amendment the required two-thirds majority in the Senate, counteracting a GOP member who voted against the plan to allow the state to take control of failing public schools.
The constitutional amendment will need 121 votes in the House, which means three Democratic votes will be required if all Republicans go for the measure, or two minority-party votes party if Rusty Kidd, I-Milledgeville, supports the proposal. Albany has two Democratic representatives, who could face pressure to join with Sims.
House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, is seen as a possible supporter of the legislation, although most of the targeted underperforming schools are in Atlanta. Abrams told InsiderAdvantage Georgia that she’s still studying the legislation.
