Transportation reform rolls forward

A state Senate leader announced Monday he’ll carry Gov. Sonny Perdue’s legislation to “downsize” the state Department of Transportation and create a new transportation authority that would place all road and rail policy firmly in the hands of the governor, House speaker and the lieutenant governor.

Legislation with details —- the measure now stands at 100 pages —- could be out as soon as Wednesday, said Senate President Pro Tem Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), who will introduce the bill to create a State Transportation Authority.

The governor would be given the power to name the chairman and two other members of the seven-member authority, plus its executive director, who would be called the secretary of transportation. The House speaker and lieutenant governor would appoint the remaining four members.

The constitutionally mandated Department of Transportation, which has been criticized as ineffective, would continue to maintain state roads, but would have to compete with private industry for contracts handed out by the new umbrella agency.

“This is truly a transportation revolution that we’re embarking on,” said Mullis, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. Rail as well as roads would be under the new organization’s jurisdiction.

In numbers, the reorganization wouldn’t be a record-breaker. About 6,100 state employees are involved at one of the several agencies, two of which —- the State Road and Tollway Authority and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority —- would be dissolved.

But because of the billions of state and federal dollars that would pass through the new agency, the reorganization insisted on by Perdue would be one of the most influential to hit state government in decades.

Two initiatives for increased transportation spending —- one regional sales tax and the other statewide —- are now before the Legislature. Perdue has insisted a reorganization of transportation agencies occur first.

The chairman of the state Transportation Board was reluctant to comment Monday because he hadn’t seen the proposal yet.

“We work for the legislators,” said the chairman, Bill Kuhlke. “Whatever they present to us we’re going to have to live with.”

However, he rejected criticism that the board and DOT are dysfunctional.

“I think we’re doing an exceptional job,” Kuhlke said, noting that the quality of Georgia’s roads consistently ranks among the highest in the nation. “Our problem right now is funding,” he said. “The state is growing rapidly. It’s almost impossible to keep up with new roads and the increase in population of the state on an annual basis.”

Staff writer Ariel Hart contributed to this article.