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Monday, February 16, 2009
Perdue’s transportation reorg goes public
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Updated at 4:40 p.m.
In a press conference that just finished, Senate President pro tem Tommie Williams of Lyons, the ranking member of the chamber, announced he would be carrying Gov. Sonny Perdue’s legislation to reorganize the state’s transportation agencies.
Legislation with details — the measure now stands at 100 pages — could be out as soon as Wednesday. Williams, Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) and state Sen. Jeff Mullis (R-Chickamauga) all described the current, constitutionally created Department of Transportation to be dysfunctional.
“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 state’s several agencies. But in terms of power and money, the reorganization sparked by Perdue would be one of the most influential to hit state government in decades.
Under the plan, which Perdue drew up with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and House Speaker Glenn Richardson, two agencies — the State Road and Tollway Authority and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority — would disappear.
In their place would be a State Transportation Authority, whose board would be appointed by the governor, House speaker, and lieutenant governor.
The governor would appoint the board chairman, and the executive director, who would be known as the Secretary of Transportation.
“We’re actually doing away with two agencies, SRTA and GRTA, and creating one. So we’re having one less agency, but with more power. And we’re downsizing the power of the [Department of Transportation],” Williams said.
The DOT, which for decades has determined road policy for the state, would be required to bid for work from the State Transportation Authority — which would also have the power to contract with private entities.
“At the current time, we know [the DOT will] still do maintenance and supervision of state routes that they’re doing currently. I don’t anticipate the regional offices changing a lot,” Williams said. “It’s primarily the funding and planning that would go to STA. And I’m assuming they’ll take some of those planning engineers and financial folks from the department, to the new department.”
Many members of the business community have been critical of the Perdue administration for ignoring transportation during most of his two terms as governor. Williams conceded that the reorganization under consideration could cost more time.
“It’s going to take a couple of years to get all those projects moved from one agency to another agency,” Williams said.
The ranking member of the Senate said he didn’t know whom the governor had in mind to become the first Secretary of Transportation.
Passage would concentrate a great deal of power into the hands of the governor and two legislative leaders — power that’s now dispersed among 13 members of the State Transportation Board of Commissioners, who are by turn chosen by state lawmakers in each of Georgia’s 13 congressional districts.
Said Williams:
”The [new] agency also has the power to propose 90 percent of the projects that qualify based on what we think is good sound science and economics and the need for capacity.
“We’ll have the power over part of the purse. We’re giving up power to elect the board. One of our frustrations with the department now is we have no power over the purse, so we can’t control their agency like we do others, saying these are the programs that we think are most important.”
Much of this has to do with private-public partnerships on giant road construction projects, which Williams has pushed for over five years - and which Perdue explored on a recent trip to Europe.
“Many have done concession agreements that have been very beneficial to states and cities and we can’t get one out the door. We don’t have the best track record there. It’s time to move on and let some of these projects,” Williams said.
The Senate president pro tem said he was currently tinkering with the bill to make sure that rural legislators wouldn’t feel left out of a system that would shift from geographical inclusion to domination by elected officials, two of three of whom are elected statewide.
Two SPLOST initiatives for increased transportation spending — one regional and the other statewide — are now before the legislature.
The initiative unveiled by Williams eliminates Democratic participation in transportation policy-making, which some fear could deep-six both SPLOST proposal. Democrats would be required for the two-thirds majority necessary for passage.
Said Williams:
“I’m not anxious to proceed without some support by the Democrats. And frankly, You can ask any Democrat in the metro area. You’ve had your board members, you’ve had that influence, and you even had the power some years ago. How did that improve transit in Atlanta? The answer, is hasn’t.
“Why not try this new approach? They’re listening. And we want them on board. They’re thinking, and we’re listening to their recommendations.”
My AJC colleague Ariel Hart talked to DOT board chairman Bill Kuhlke, who didn’t quite no what to say — there not being anything on paper yet.
“We work for the legislators,” said Kuhlke. “Whatever they present to us we’re going to have to live with.”
However, the DOT board chairman rejected criticism that the board and DOT are currently 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.”
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A surprisingly disciplined message on lobbyists, tax hikes from Roy Barnes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
When former Gov. Roy Barnes penned an op-ed piece for the AJC earlier this month, not a few eyebrows rose several inches at the state Capitol.
Barnes’ populist tone was almost campaign-like:
Just since 2005, the special interest lobbyists have persuaded the General Assembly and the governor to approve at least $337 million in special-interest tax breaks and giveaways, including a multiyear $140 million tax break just for insurance companies in 2008.
Barnes has now appeared in a pair of columns by Don McKee in the Marietta Daily Journal. As with the AJC piece, Barnes focused on three points: The Georgia Power bill, the homestead tax relief program he started, and what he called the increased influence of lobbyists at the state Capitol.
In last Friday’s MDJ, Barnes said:
“I can’t believe legislators are so naïve to accept this,” Barnes said. “They say we need to let them go ahead and collect this money so they don’t have to pay interest on the money they borrow. … They want to take the right of the private individual to collect interest on his own money and give it to Georgia Power. … It’s just nothing but a shift in money from the ratepayer. He’s not going get to keep his money and earn interest on it.
And in today’s MDJ, Barnes said:
“The failure to fund this large, broad-based property tax relief is a tax increase,” the Democrat from Mableton said in an interview. “I don’t care whatever you argue about it. If you fail to fund it, then it’s a tax increase.”
That is a great deal of talking — and message discipline — for someone who’s not running for governor in 2010.
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Your morning jolt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On ajc.com today:
— Could Sunday booze sales boost Georgia’s economy?
— Logjam at crime labs slows solutions to deaths
— Despite peanut crisis, PB&J Day still a go at Capitol
— Atlanta’s firefighter shortage improves from Saturday’s numbers
— Who’ll get the money? Stimulus funds in Georgia
— Obama faces next big goal, new hurdles
Elsewhere:
— From NYT: Obama set to drop plan for ‘car czar.’
— From WashPost: Moderate Republican senators give little Maine a big voice
— From Chicago ST: Perjury or not, Burris at least shows he’s not telling the truth.
