A bill that would allow voters in Fulton and DeKalb counties to decide if they want to expand MARTA seems to be moving through the Senate at a fast pace.
When introducing the bill recently, Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) said he felt it was time for the state to make some “big, bold decisions” when it comes to mass transit. His bill would allow Fulton and DeKalb voters to approve an additional 1/2 percent sales tax for new infrastructure for mass transit. By an 8-3 vote Thursday, the Senate Transportation Committee passed the bill — with a few amendments. It now moves to the Rules Committee to schedule a vote by the full Senate.
“We will never be a world class region if we don’t address transit in the metro Atlanta area,” Beach said during a recent press conference.
Beach believes mass transit is a critical piece of the economic development picture in Georgia. And Thursday, those in support of the bill — including many Atlanta business leaders– testified that the need for more rail service was a priority for economic development in metro Atlanta.
There were only a few slight changes to the bill, including the changed wording from “transit” instead of “rail,” and allowing cities input on the project list. The bill says this project list would be drafted prior to a vote.
“Transit is a component today when it comes to economic development. It’s a box they now check off when looking into locating somewhere,” Beach said.
Beach believes the timing is right for this $8 billion infrastructure improvement because of the state’s passage of the transportation bill last year. If approved, this would be the largest investment in infrastructure project ever built in the state, Beach said.
“We have a lot of momentum in the transportation world right now,” he said. “We passed HB 170 — which means $1 billion of state money to get transportation projects going. We need to capture that momentum and seize the momentum to address transit in our region. We will never be a world class region if we don’t address transit in metro Atlanta.”
Beach also addressed any concerns of raising taxes for mass transit projects.
“We are not raising taxes, we are flexing the one-half of a penny allocated in the SPLOST in HB 170,” he said. The voters will have the final say.”
Not everyone spoke in favor of the proposed expansion. Alpharetta Mayor David Belle Isle believes building rail stations in his city would actually increase traffic as people drive into the city to use transit.
If the bill is approved by legislators, and then approved by local elected officials in those counties, voters could have their say in either November 2016 or 2017.
