Home > Political Insider > Archives > 2009 > January > 21
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The three-way deal on transportation that’s cooking: It’s a 50 percent thing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson are closing in on a final deal to reshape and reorganize the agencies that control the way Georgians move around.
Very likely, in the process, they’ll also attempt to destroy the decades-old grip that the state Department of Transportation and its ruling board have on policy — and millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars.
The trio is expected to ink a deal within the next two days. Details are being held close to the vest, but a few hints have been dropped, some important committee assignments have been made, and at least one highly interesting bill has been filed.
We’re not talking about the one-cent sales tax for roads, whether statewide or by confederacies of counties. This is about “governance,” and Perdue’s renewed demand of proof that the state bureaucracy can handle the increased transportation funding that the business community has demanded.
The legislation that’s about to be unveiled is highly, highly likely to concentrate a great deal of power over transportation policy in the hands of three men.
The key to the deal can be found in the Georgia Constitution. Most state lawmakers assume that the annual fortune generated by the state motor fuel tax must go to the DOT. That’s incorrect.
All the Constitution requires is that the cash go toward “providing and maintaining an adequate system of public roads and bridges in this state, as authorized by laws enacted by the General Assembly of Georgia.” No agency is specified.
This is important because the triumvirate is demanding that the reorganization of the state’s alphabet soup of transportation agencies be accomplished without a constitutional amendment. For that would require that Democrats in both the Hosue and the Senate be brought into the bargain.
You’ll remember a mention of a proposal backed by House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island) to change the way the state DOT board is structured. Right now, rank-and-file members of the Legislature elect each board member, based on lawmaker residency in the state’s 13 congressional districts.
Keen would have the governor name one-third of the board, the speaker appoint another third, and the lieutenant governor the final third. The governor would appoint the DOT commissioner, the agency’s executive director.
The current, decentralized system has allowed the DOT board to operate in semi-independent fashion, playing the demands of both governors and the Legislature against one another. The only hitch: The dysfunctional agency has made billions of dollars of promises it can’t fulfill. And traffic in metro Atlanta is choking the rest of Georgia.
But — and here’s the point - changing the structure of the DOT board would require a change in the state Constitution, which would require a two-thirds vote of both chambers in the General Assembly. And a deal with Democrats.
But why would Democrats agree to such a thing? They currently control four of 13 seats on the DOT board, by virtue of their control of four congressional districts. Adopting Keen’s proposal would mean giving up all Democratic influence. Not likely.
So if the GOP triumvirate is to get its way, all must be done with a 50 percent vote of the House and Senate. Which brings us back to that constitutional clause mandating that the revenue stream generated by the state’s motor fuel tax — the heart and soul of the DOT — go toward “public roads and bridges.” Redirect that river of cash — or most of it, or a significant portion — to another agency, and DOT becomes a subservient (and perhaps irrelevant) pothole department.
A bill has been proposed in the last few days by Tommie Williams, the Senate president pro tem — the ranking member of the chamber.
S.B. 40 is not the governor’s legislation. And Williams says his measure is intended only to strip the DOT’s authority over public-private initiatives and hand it to the State Road and Tollway Authority.
“I did not intend to broaden [SRTA] power beyond that,” the Senate leader said.
Despite Williams’ intentions, a careful reading of the legislation shows no limits on the ability of the Legislature to shift transportation duties away from the DOT. The measure also greatly expands the governor’s power “to commence the study of any given [transportation] project or projects and to provide for their construction.”
S.B.40 doesn’t contain any hint of the power-sharing that’s likely at the heart of the three-legged deal. But the bill does demonstrate the language that might be used to strip the state DOT board of influence. Consider that the measure could very well be the precursor of legislation to come.
S.B. 40 has a set of influential sponsors, in addition to Williams: Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga), chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee; Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) and Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna).
Stoner, the Democrat, told us on Wednesday evening that he signed onto the legislation with the anticipation that it would only affect PPIs — but acknowledged that the language is curiously open-ended. If the measure is intended for something other than PPIs, Stoner said, he would withdraw his support.
Permalink | Comments (25) | Post your comment |
Gingrich: Senate Republicans should draw line at Geithner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former U.S. House speaker Newt Gingrich is advising Senate Republicans to pick their first fight with President Barack Obama — over the nomination of Timothy Geithner for secretary of the treasury.
Geithner today apologized for his failure to pay $34,000 in Social Security and Medicare taxes earlier this decade.
This from an interview in today’s Washington Times:
Mr. Gingrich said Mr. Geithner’s failure to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 should automatically disqualify him, and that if Mr. Obama doesn’t withdraw the nomination Republicans should make a stand.
“Senate Republicans should make it clear that they will not permit a tax evader to become the secretary of the Treasury,” the Georgia Republican [said]. “Even after he was explicitly sent material telling him he had to pay them he did not do so.”
Photo credit: Associated Press
Permalink | Comments (14) | Post your comment |
Speaking of ex-presidents: Welcome center in Plains falls to budget cuts
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Americus Times-Recorder today mourns the loss of the state welcome center that directs visitors around former President Jimmy Carter’s hometown:
Penny Smith is a little bit sad. The Plains Welcome Center manager said she was notified last week that the Plains Welcome Center, one of 11 state Visitor Information Centers located throughout Georgia, is scheduled to close. This is as a result of the budget cuts by Governor Sonny Perdue’s recent attempt to resurrect the economy of the state.
According to Smith and others in the community, the closing of this Welcome Center would be “devastating.”
Smith said, “This is a community where our 39th President lives, and people come to this Center for that reason. Most of our visitors are destination visitors.”
