Tea party opposes shifting transportation tax vote

By Associated Press

For the AJC

Georgia tea party leaders said Monday they oppose plans to shift a public vote on a transportation tax until the November general election, a move designed to improve the measure's chance of winning voter approval.

Members of Georgia Tea Party Patriots and a handful of local elected officials gathered at the state Capitol to speak against the plan as legislators gaveled in for a special session. Lawmakers will take up a measure that would move the public vote on the 1-cent sales tax hike from the state's July 2012 primary to November.

Supporters say more voters will turn out for the November general election, allowing more Georgians to have a say.

But tea party leaders say it's unfair to change plans simply to maximize the tax hike's chance of passing.

They said they don't support the move unless lawmakers add an amendment mandating that all local tax votes must take place during the fall general election.

Atlanta Tea Party Patriots co-founder Debbie Dooley said she would be keeping score to see how legislators vote.

The transportation tax plan, adopted earlier this year, divides the state into groups. Elected officials in those local community groups must come up with a list of local transportation projects, and voters will then vote on whether to hike their sales tax by 1 cent to fund them.

House Speaker David Ralston said the tea party is a political force to be reckoned with in Georgia.

"But I don't doubt the ability of the people of Georgia to make this decision," the Republican from Blue Ridge said. "That's the bedrock of what we passed."

The transportation fight is expected to be fiercest in the metro Atlanta region, where congestion is among the worst in the nation.

Officials in the 10-county Atlanta region have until midnight to approve a $6.14 billion draft list of transportation projects.

If voters sign off, it would be the area's biggest single infrastructure investment in decades.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that over the past two weeks, a committee has tentatively cut more than $20 billion in dream projects down to $6.56 billion. The current list is $420 million over the goal.

Some committee members say their only option may be to pass the best list they can, and revise it over the next two months. A final vote is scheduled for October following public comment.