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Thursday, January 31, 2008
Clinton — Bill, that is — at KSU on Friday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former President Bill Clinton will take center stage on behalf of his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, at Kennesaw State University at 6:30 p.m. Friday, we’re told.
The appearance was added late today. Bill Clinton is scheduled to attend a gathering of Baptists later Friday evening in Atlanta. He’s promised to be non-political before his religious audience.
Don’t expect that in Kennesaw.
Westmoreland backs Romney
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the downpour of endorsements flooding Georgia just days before Tuesday’s presidential primary comes news from Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Grantville that he’s backing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
“A Georgia GOP primary works as a filter - only a true conservative can get through one,” Westmoreland said in a statement. “It appears that we are now down to a two-person race and Georgians can help winnow the field and protect our party’s conservative values and principles.”
Westmoreland’s endorsement is long on “conservative” and short on “Republican” when talking about Romney, underscoring one of the most serious problems facing Sen. John McCain, the GOP front-runner, in Georgia.
Senator, there are still plenty of folks around c’here who think it’s time to take down the party’s Big Tent and get back to basics.
Huckabee swaps churches, and the first hint of a Romney visit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has shifted the locale of his Georgia church-going on Sunday.
Instead of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, as earlier reported, Huckabee will be attending the 9:30 and 11 a.m. services at First Baptist Church of Woodstock.
Why the change? Maybe the reason can be found somewhere in the congregation. Gov. Sonny Perdue is a member of the Woodstock church.
After that, Huckabee heads to Macon for a 3 p.m. rally there.
By the way, Mitt Romney will be in Georgia on Monday, his supporters here announced. But they had no details.
Sonny Perdue steps out on those two DOT races
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday stepped publicly into a pair of races for the state transportation board, endorsing two board members seeking re-election — and opposed by House Speaker Glenn Richardson.
In front of a crowd of community leaders from Savannah, gathered in the state Capitol for “Savannah Day,” the governor gave “the firmest endorsement I can make to Raybon Anderson of Statesboro, one of two targeted DOT members.
Perdue urged the community leaders to contact state lawmakers who cast votes for the DOT board on Friday. “They work for you. They represent your values and your views,” the governor said. “It’s urgently important for us to move forward in resolving solutions, rather than looking at things in negative ways.”
Afterwards, Perdue was asked if he’d offer the same endorsement of Mike Evans of Cumming, the state DOT board chairman, who is also being opposed by Richardson. “Yes,” the governor replied.
Both Evans and Anderson last year voted against the House speaker’s pick for DOT commissioner, and instead successfully backed Gena Abraham, the governor’s pick. Richardson has said he’s appalled by the mismanagement that Abraham has uncovered during her few weeks in the job, and thinks certain board members should be held responsible.
DOT elections are a complicated affair. Board seats are awarded by congressional districts. House and Senate members whose districts are in each congressional district participate in the vote, usually by secret ballot.
In Anderson’s case, 14 Republicans and 14 Democrats will decide. And two Democratic names have been floated as opponents to the Statesboro resident.
But on Thursday, Anderson may have picked up some bipartisan support. Before the governor spoke, state Sen. Regina Thomas of Savannah, a Democrat, told the crowd to expect “the status quo” after the dust has settled.
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The latest non-endorsement news from Isakson, Chambliss
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Contrary to reports from CNN, U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss didn’t endorse Republican presidential candidate John McCain, or anyone else, on Thursday.
The cable network had predicted the alliance, after several political blogs, included one by the Washington Post, had quoted U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a McCain ally, as saying he was in the midst of lobbying both Isakson and Chambliss.
On Thursday, a spokeswoman for Isakson said he’s made no decision, though he’s been contacted by all three top GOP candidates.
A spokeswoman for Chambliss was a bit more cryptic: “We have a lot of balls in the air — nothing to report right now,” she said in an e-mail.
Those who reported on Graham’s conversation on Wednesday also said the South Carolina senator had mentioned approaching Gov. Sonny Perdue. But a Perdue spokesman said flatly that the governor would be making no endorsements before Super Tuesday.
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A Romney, not Mitt, in town today
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just got last-minute notice that Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is sending his son to Georgia this afternoon to rally the troops in Atlanta and Cherokee County.
Craig Romney will be at the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot in Atlanta at 4:50 p.m. to meet with supporters from Atlanta and Chatham.
He’s scheduled to be at Cherokee County’s Chamber of Commerce office in Canton at 6:45 p.m. Craig’s dad is spending the day in California, which, like Georgia, holds its primary Tuesday.
Mops have been thrown: Sanford Bishop’s wife accosted because of her Clinton support
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The wife of U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop was accosted this week because of her support for Hillary Clinton, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer is reporting today.
Sanford Bishop is supporting Obama. But Vivian Creighton Bishop, a municipal court clerk in Columbus, is co-chair of the Georgia Women for Hillary committee.
Vivian Bishop said the incident occurred at the Clinton office in Columbus. According to the article:
She said about 2 p.m. Monday, she went to the building at 804 Veterans Parkway to pick up a friend before driving to the airport for a flight to Washington, where she was to see the president’s State of the Union address. As she walked into the building, a man at a vacant house next door started hollering.
“I couldn’t make out what he was saying, so I wasn’t sure he was talking to me or to someone else who may have been in the yard,” Bishop said. But when she came back out, there was no doubt.
“He said, ‘You heard what I said. You should be ashamed of yourself for supporting that white woman, you stupid something.’ He started calling me names,” she said of the man, who was black. “And I said, ‘Pardon me,’ and he said, ‘You heard what I said, supporting that white woman.’ “
Then he threw a mop at her, she said. “It got stuck in the hedges.”
More Thompsonites choose sides
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You can be sure more trophies will be announced today by the presidential campaigns, both Republican and Democratic, but former Georgia senator Mack Mattingly, a former Fred Thompson supporter, has joined the John McCain team.
And in the state Capitol, state Sen. David Shafer, another Fred-head who last week was spotted at a Mike Huckabee appearance, has decided to pledge his troth to Mitt Romney.
Election results via billboard: Because you should be more depressed while driving, not less
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia sent out word today that 20 electric billboards in eight cities — including metro Atlanta, Lawrenceville, Rome, Augusta, Brunswick, Albany, Macon and Valdosta — will carry presidential primary updates from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday
The digital signs will also post final results, when they are tabulated.
“This new technology lets us provide this important information as it happens to the hundreds of thousands of people who see these billboards,” Conner Poe, executive director of the group, is quoted as saying in a press release just out.
Somebody alert the state patrol.
Perdue on transportation: No new funds, and a sales tax would reward the ‘haves’ of Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Wednesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue sent a letter to the chairmen of the House and Senate transportation committees, thanking them for a joint report on the topic.
In reality, the missive is the governor’s treatise on transportation and what should be done about it. Those interested in the topic should pay close attention.
Perdue says he’s uninterested in talking about new funds for the traffic woes of metro Atlanta and elsewhere, because of the way the Department of Transportation has mishandled his Fast Forward program.
Wrote Perdue:
”Over the course of the six-year program, we anticipated completing what would ordinarily take 18 years to accomplish. However, in a recent review of Fast Forward by the Department of Transportation’s new Commissioner, Gena Abraham, we have found that only 20 percent of the projects are complete even though more than 60 percent of time has elapsed. …
“Therefore, on the most critical issue of raising taxes, I am not yet comfortable with our ability to effectively spend the funds we currently have for transportation improvements.
Perhaps more important, the governor declares that he is not keen on the idea of a sales tax for transportation, because the wealthy parts of the state that are shopping destinations — i.e. metro Atlanta — would benefit more than poorer areas.
Says the governor:
”Sales taxes tend to further widen the gap between the ‘haves and the have nots’ because the tax revenue is owned by the jurisdiction of the point of sale and not the jurisdiction where the taxpayers’ trip may have originated.”
The entire letter is on the jump.
January 30, 2008
Senator Jeff Mullis, Representative Vance Smith
Dear Chairman Mullis and Chairman Smith,
On behalf of the users of Georgia’s transportation system, I would like to thank you and the members of the Joint Study Committee on Transportation Funding for your tireless efforts examining our state’s mobility needs and possible funding alternatives. Below I have attempted to address each of the recommendations, and I think you will find that we agree on a substantial number of issues.
State Infrastructure Bank
We are in agreement that our local governments are in need of the niche financing options that can be uniquely provided by a State Transportation Infrastructure Bank (STIB). When developing needed transportation projects, many local government entities find themselves short on funding.
Yet these transportation projects are important for achieving local communities’ objectives to grow and develop their economy. Financial tools provided by conventional banks sometimes do not fill the need for low cost solutions to fill funding gaps. The STIB will provide low interest rates and flexible repayment terms that are not currently available.
As proposed in House Bill 1019, sponsored by Representative John Lunsford, local government entities eligible to apply for loans and other defined financial assistance include counties, cities, CIDs, transit agencies, and development authorities. Loan applications would be submitted to the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA), the State’s transportation finance agency.
With the assistance of partner agencies, SRTA will create focused project selection criteria that ensure that projects with the greatest impact on local communities receive loan awards, while also ensuring that local governments’ finances are not overburdened by repayment schedules. For Fiscal Year 2009, the capitalization is recommended to total $50 million.
Design Build
While employing efficient and effective alternative forms of project delivery will be a critical tool for enabling our transportation system to keep pace with our state’s population and economic growth, we should hope to set up our laws to allow flexibility that may be required by future market conditions.
Thus we should stay away from prescribing minimum thresholds in Code in order to avoid onerous and restrictive requirements. Accordingly, I would support legislation that would remove the current 15 percent cap prescribed by O.C.G.A. 32-2-81. We should strive for authorizing legislation that provides necessary flexibility to achieve the best value for our tax dollars, including appropriate oversight and accountability measures. In the meantime, my administration will be working with Commissioner Abraham to ensure the proper use of the tools afforded in GDOT’s current statute in Title 32.
Aviation and Railroads
We are in agreement that our state’s airports and railroads are critical to economic development opportunities. The growth of freight movement through Georgia to and from our coastal ports is among the fastest in the country. In order to capitalize on our state’s position as the Gateway to the East Coast for the import and export of goods in a modern global economy, we must gain a clear understanding of the needs of the freight and logistics industries in relation to our transportation infrastructure.
That is why I have recommended an appropriation to the Department of Transportation of $500,000 for Fiscal Year 2009 to implement a Freight and Logistics strategy that will be built on a new and accurate source of on-the-ground freight flow data. It will give us a working knowledge of the linkage between the economic opportunities of freight movement to/through our transportation infrastructure and assess the demand for transportation infrastructure capacity (roadway, rail, waterways, and airports) with the supply we currently have.
Such an assessment will highlight ways to optimize our existing infrastructure as well as learn where our infrastructure gaps exist and how much it will cost to fill those gaps. This data-rich, value-driven information will guide us in targeting future infrastructure investments for maximum efficiency and return on investment. I expect that the initial phases of this strategy can be developed within just a few months, so that we may begin to use the findings and adjust policy accordingly.
Financial assistance from the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank is proposed to address the need for local airport facilities that typically are not freight carriers. I will recommend to the board of the OneGeorgia Authority that $15 million of funds be transferred to capitalize the STIB, and these funds would only be allowed for use in assisting airports throughout the State in accordance with the rules of the OneGeorgia Authority.
Statewide and Regional Transportation Funding
Georgia is among the top three states in the country for population growth, trailing only Texas and California. This puts tremendous pressure on our transportation system’s ability to accommodate our travel demands for work and recreation, as well as the movement of resources and products.
In an effort to meet the need for transportation investment, I initiated the Fast Forward program, which was to begin doubling our transportation capital investment in Fiscal Year 2005. Over the course of the six-year program, we anticipated completing what would ordinarily take 18 years to accomplish. However, in a recent review of Fast Forward by the Department of Transportation’s new Commissioner, Gena Abraham, we have found that only 20 percent of the projects are complete even though more than 60 percent of time has elapsed. While we have benefited from the completion of some important projects around the state, we have yet to see the full benefit of the program.
Therefore, on the most critical issue of raising taxes, I am not yet comfortable with our ability to effectively spend the funds we currently have for transportation improvements. Based on my experience with doubling transportation funds through the Fast Forward program but not receiving the expected and necessary results, I cannot yet guarantee that we are maximizing taxpayers’ contributions or getting the best return on investment. At this time, I cannot in good conscience advocate raising taxes on our citizens.
I am confident, though, that we are appropriately addressing systemic administrative issues at the Department of Transportation. This includes Commissioner Abraham’s reform of the Department’s methods to assess local transportation needs and advance projects. Her new system will engage representatives of the General Assembly, State Transportation Board, and locally elected officials to create a prioritized list of their local governments’ projects.
Such approach will facilitate much-needed certainty about the Department’s commitment to funding and completing projects on defined timelines. With the magnitude of the need for additional transportation funding not yet clear, I expect that this process will help identify the true infrastructure requirements of our growing state. We need a much more thorough evaluation of needs before we act to raise taxes.
Regarding equitable collection and distribution of sales tax revenues, I remain very concerned about the fairness of allocating such funds. Sales taxes tend to further widen the gap between the “haves and the have nots” because the tax revenue is owned by the jurisdiction of the point of sale and not the jurisdiction where the taxpayers’ trip may have originated.
This is similar to my concern about special purpose local option sales taxes for education, known as ESPLOSTs. Profound inequities often result in the provision of public education when a citizen of a county without an ESPLOST purchases items in a county with an ESPLOST. Benefits do not accrue to the payer, they accrue to the assessor. Those areas which are more economically developed will collect more sales tax and continue to build more assets.
A similar disparity would seem to be the case with a sales tax for transportation. There may however be ways to remedy this, and if so, I would like to see a comprehensive assessment of mechanisms to fairly collect and distribute the taxes proposed by the Joint Study Committee.
We are in agreement that the static excise tax on motor fuel is eroding our state’s purchasing power for transportation infrastructure, resulting from increases in the fuel efficiency of today’s cars and unprecedented costs increases in materials and land acquisition.
Of course, Georgia uses the revenues from a second tax on motor fuel based on the purchase price, which has generated modest revenue increases as gas prices have increased. However, eliminating the excise tax would reduce the link between users and payers for our transportation system and would remove the ability to attain some degree of equity in funding transportation improvements. At this time, it is therefore my preference to leave the motor fuel excise tax in place as it keeps our road network funded by its users.
Statewide Transportation Plan and Transit
Federal and state laws require that the Department of Transportation formulate long-range comprehensive transportation plans that meet specific goals for ensuring a safe, efficient transportation system for all Georgians. Accordingly, the Statewide Transportation Plan (SWTP) is produced by the Department every five years. The most recent plan was completed in 2005 and is available on the Department’s website - another SWTP is due in 2010. As the Department embarks upon this effort, I anticipate it will find great utility in outcome of the Freight and Logistics Strategy Implementation as a foundation for optimizing investment into our transportation system.
In addition to the statewide plan, short-range and long-range transportation plans are required by federal law for Georgia’s 15 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). Requiring another transportation plan would not only be redundant with duplicate research and reporting, it would also create conflicting mandates for performance of the transportation system.
Per federal law, transit must be included in the SWTP and the Department has done so. I agree that we should give greater attention to the role transit can play in moving Georgia’s citizens to their destination in a reliable, safe, and efficient manner. Accordingly, my administration will continue working with the Atlanta region’s Transit Planning Board as well as with the Department of Transportation as they interact with Georgia’s 14 other MPOs to create fiscally responsible multi-modal transportation plans.
Holding the Department accountable to creating a plan that meets strategic goals for economic development and traffic congestion relief is a worthy and important effort. It is recommended that the formulation of goals and timeframes for meeting them occurs in collaboration with the State Transportation Board and the Governor.
Other Recommendations
Other recommendations of the Joint Study Committee that are supported include urging resolutions for Value Engineering, HOV to HOT Lanes and Public Private Initiatives. These recommendations have been successful in other states and would initiate activities here in Georgia that optimize the use and efficiency of our infrastructure and enable project delivery efficiencies in a short time frame.
More information is needed on the recommendations that seek a report from the Department of Transportation on a statewide concession plan, that authorize support for the MagLev Transrapid train, and that request a report from the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA). My administration is in the midst of evaluating these studies, which are currently underway. Once complete, we will seek to collaborate with the General Assembly’s Transportation Committees as well as the Department of Transportation and SRTA.
In the vein of core principles of smaller and more efficient government, I support the efforts to examine efficiency options at the Department of Transportation and I will look to the State Transportation Board and Commissioner Abraham for their recommendations regarding innovation and cost reductions. With regards to the recommendation to create a Transportation Oversight Committee to review ongoing transportation issues, this is the role to which the standing Transportation Committees are entrusted in both chambers of the General Assembly. I have great confidence in your capabilities as Chairmen of these important committees.
Other items that need further review and analysis from my office include the recommendations regarding reform of Transportation Governance and the creation of a Georgia Council for Rural and Human Services Transportation. With regards to urging the U.S. Department of Transportation to adjust its fund allocation formula, my administration will be working with Georgia’s Congressional Delegation in the coming 18 months to be sure Georgia receives its fair share of federal Highway Trust Fund dollars in the reauthorization of the federal transportation spending act.
*************Once again, please accept my gratitude for your time and efforts, and I look forward to working together as we strive to make Georgia’s transportation system the most efficient and effective in the country.
Sincerely,
Governor Sonny Perdue
cc:
Representative Mark Hamilton
Representative James Mills
Senator Chip Pearson
Senator Valencia Seay
Representative Jay Shaw
Representative Donna Sheldon
Senator Doug Stoner
Senator Tommie Williams
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