Plan to shift transportation funding clears Senate panel

Gov. Sonny Perdue’s plan to reorganize transportation spending passed the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday, six days after the plan was unveiled for the public.

The bill (Senate Bill 200) would give the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House of Representatives more control over the more than $2 billion in state transportation spending.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Tommie Williams (R-Lyons), would shift many of the powers now held by the state Department of Transportation to a new agency called the State Transportation Authority. The authority, which would choose most state road projects, would be controlled by a board that was hand-picked by the state’s top three elected officials.

Williams said the plan would speed project development.

Legislators formally introduced it in the Senate and discussed it in committee for the first time Tuesday. It has not yet been introduced in the House, but Speaker Glenn Richardson said last week he supported it.

The Senate’s transportation committee approved the plan with an 8-3 vote. The dissenters were Democrats.

Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna), who voted against the plan, complained that “we are rushing this issue.”

Some Republicans voiced misgivings, too.

“I’m going to vote for this bill to move it along in the process,” said Sen. Chip Pearson (R-Dawsonville). But Pearson admitted to concerns about “the whole concept” of reducing the DOT board’s powers while leaving it in place, rather than reforming the department or replacing its board. After the committee vote, Pearson said he didn’t want to stand in the bill’s way on Wednesday, but he had not decided how he would vote when it came before the full Senate.

Advocates for local governments who testified about the bill said they saw no sign that money for local projects outlined in the bill would be guaranteed.

Tad Leithead, a member of the Atlanta Regional Commission, testified that ARC feared the bill contradicted federal guidelines that give transportation planning powers to metropolitan governments.

Sen. Steve Thompson (D-Marietta) questioned a provision in the bill that would allow the new authority to write rules for awarding projects to contractors without taking the lowest bid. Williams said the provision could help the state get better deals in some circumstances, but said the provision could be removed.