ATLANTA – Flanked by top business leaders from across the state and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta) said fast-growing regions of the state need transportation solutions now, even as permanent statewide funding sources are considered.

“We can no longer continue to study, plan, debate or delay,” Martin said. “Without action now, our region and state will get further behind in providing the transportation network our citizens and businesses urgently need. Everybody agrees that in addition, we need to look at the fundamental way transportation is funded statewide. But regions need relief now to address their critical local transportation needs.”

Martin also warned that progress would be stalled by any future proposals that:

• require a constitutional amendment
• pit rural and urban areas against each other through a statewide vote
• compete with education and health care funding needs statewide
• force voters to live with projects that are not selected locally

These comments came during the first hearing on H.B. 434 in the Sales Tax Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. This bill would allow any region in the state to raise funds for transportation improvements through a public vote, and use those funds to tackle the transportation projects that are most important to their individual communities.

The plan is supported by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, 14 individual chambers of commerce, the Regional Business Coalition, the Livable Communities Coalition and the Technology Leadership Coalition. The bill is co-sponsored by Rep. Richard Royal (R-Camilla), Rep. Jon Burns (R-Effingham), Rep. Stephanie Benfield (D-DeKalb) and Rep. Virgil Fludd (D-Fulton), among others.

“Almost every region of the state has critical, but unfunded, transportation needs ranging from improving unsafe roads to reconstructing outdated highways to funding local transit initiatives,” said George Israel, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. “This bill simply says that if voters want to tackle transportation improvements that are critical to their particular communities, they can do it.”

Phil Hickey, chairman and CEO of RARE Hospitality International, Inc. and vice chair of the transportation policy committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, said traffic has become the No. 1 concern for the business community.

“One of the first things companies ask when they're deciding whether to locate here is: ‘What are you doing about traffic?',” Hickey said. “The regional approach is something that people from all parts of the state can agree on -- because it guarantees that each community can tackle its most immediate needs.”

H.B. 434 includes important checks and balances to protect the will of the voters.

“For instance, before taking a vote, local officials would be required to announce which specific projects would be funded and when the local tax would end,” said Brandon Beach, president and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. “And a taxpayer oversight committee would make sure promises were being kept.”

Transportation is a critical issue statewide.

“While Georgia has been the fourth-fastest growing state in the nation over the last decade, its rate of investment in new transportation infrastructure is fourth from the bottom,” said David Connell, region manager for Georgia Power Company and immediate past chairman of the Regional Business Coalition, which represents 14 chambers of commerce and more than 15,000 businesses. “In metro Atlanta alone, traffic is expected to increase from fourth-worst in the nation to second-worst, surpassing San Francisco . We're at a crossroads and we've got to act now.”

Across the country, regional referenda have been highly popular as a way to fund transportation improvements. In 2004 alone, there were 79 different public votes across the country on transportation matters, according to the national Center for Transportation Excellence. Of those, 73 were regional and 80 percent of the regional measures passed.

Current backers of H.B. 434 include:

•  Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce
•  Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce
•  Clayton County Chamber of Commerce
•  Cobb County Chamber of Commerce
•  Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce
•  DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce
•  Douglas County Chamber of Commerce
•  Fayette County Chamber of Commerce
•  Georgia Chamber of Commerce
•  Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce
•  South Fulton Chamber of Commerce
•  Henry County Chamber of Commerce
•  Newnan-Coweta County Chamber of Commerce
•  Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
•  Paulding County Chamber of Commerce
•  Regional Business Coalition
•  Livable Communities Coalition
•  Technology Leadership Coalition

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