The effort to ease traffic congestion around Perimeter Mall got a boost Thursday from the state Legislature, according to the executive director of a business coalition that's working on such improvements.

The House on Thursday passed a proposal that would set the stage for voters to create a 1-percent sales tax to build roads, trails, transit and commuter rail.

The Senate already approved the measure, which now goes to a House-Senate committee responsible for ironing out differences in the two versions.

If the committee can compromise, the House and Senate must agree to the changes.

The Perimeter Community Improvement Districts lobbied for the plan, Senate Resolution 845. The PCIDs is comprised of business leaders in Sandy Springs and unincorporated Dunwoody who pay extra property taxes for shuttles and upgrades to roads, sidewalks and intersections.

"This is a huge step forward toward allowing us to achieve our transportation agenda," said Yvonne Williams, the PCIDs' executive director. "We strongly encourage the House and Senate to be successful in their negotiations."

The measure calls for Georgia voters to decide in November whether to change the state Constitution to create a 1-percent sales tax for transportation improvements.

If the constitution is amended, voters could decide whether to raise the sales tax in their communities and use the money to improve roads, support buses and train systems, and add sidewalks and trails. The question of how the projects are selected and managed is one of the issues the House and Senate have to resolve.