Creating real solutions for our traffic congestion issues
On June 2, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed House Bill 277, the Transportation Investment Act of 2010.The bill allows regions across the state to develop a list of transportation projects, propose a 1 percent sales tax to fund them, and put the list before the voters to approve in a ballot measure July 2012.
“Transportation funding has been a priority for the business community for the past four years," said Dave Stockert, president & CEO, Post Properties, Inc., and chair of the Chamber’s transportation policy committee. “This long effort has been rewarded with legislation that will allow metro Atlanta to begin to address our lagging transportation infrastructure. It shows companies interested in moving here that we are working to solve our transportation issues.”
The Transportation Funding Act is the result of a series of compromises between the Governor, House and Senate, and overwhelmingly passed the General Assembly. The bill creates 12 districts across Georgia. It will allow leaders in each district to choose a regional project list that will go before the voters in the July 2012 election.
The Challenge
Georgia is the third fastest-growing state in the nation, yet transportation funding per capita is next to last. As a result, today our traffic is third-worst in the country, and companies say traffic is a major factor when they decide whether to bring their business here.
The Solution
We support the regional, voter-approved sales tax with defined projects and accountability measures passed by the 2010 Georgia General Assembly.
Any real solution must:
- generate enough funding to provide the relief we need
- be open to all modes of transportation
- have a real impact on our quality-of-life and economic competitiveness
History of Chamber Leadership
The Chamber has been committed to this issue for a long time.
MATI transportation blueprint – The 1998 Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Initiative was a Metro Atlanta Chamber-sponsored assembly of state and local business leaders, elected officials, and community/civic leaders that first produced a “blueprint” for improving the transportation system in metro Atlanta.
One major outcome of this blueprint was the Legislature’s creation of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. It was charged with planning and monitoring all forms of transportation in the Atlanta region, and providing accountability for meeting the long-term transportation needs of our region.
The Chamber has completed numerous policy and research projects on such issues as transit, transportation funding, commuter rail and best practices of other regions. These projects have shaped our policy decisions and demonstrated employer and employee attitudes toward congestion and mobility.
In 2007, the Chamber backed regional transportation funding legislation that would allow voters in any region in the state to raise funds for local transportation projects. It won far-reaching, bipartisan support from both Republicans and Democrats, and from rural and urban areas.
In 2008, similar legislation passed overwhelmingly in the House by a vote of 134-34, and fell just three votes short of the required two-thirds majority in the Senate (35-18).
In 2009, the House and Senate both passed transportation bills by overwhelming majorities, but the two legislative chambers were unable to reach a compromise between their two proposals.