Road tax vote crucial

Once again, we stand at a critical crossroads.

A year ago this week, lawmakers in the state House and Senate were just steps away from giving the people of Georgia an unprecedented say in the future of our state.

Both bodies had passed bills authorizing badly needed new transportation funding by overwhelming, bipartisan margins.

They negotiated a compromise to let Georgians everywhere vote on a penny sales tax that would have spared them countless hours wasted sitting in traffic and helped create thousands of jobs across the state.

That compromise held until four minutes before midnight on the final day of the 2008 legislative session, when the bill came up just three votes shy of the number needed to put new funding on the ballot.

Now, with two days remaining before the end of the 2009 session, important transportation funding and governance bills are before both bodies. And time is running out.

As the leaders of Georgia’s two largest business advocacy groups, we have an obligation to promote policies that grow our economy and improve the quality of life for the millions employed by our members.

We have been at the forefront of the transportation funding debate since the beginning, working hand-in-hand with state lawmakers, local elected officials and other stakeholders on one of the most important issues of our time.

The case for new funding has been made painfully clear in recent years, as study after study has exposed Georgia’s underfunded transportation network. Most recently, a report commissioned by Gov. Sonny Perdue cited decades of underinvestment in and undermanagement of Georgia’s transportation infrastructure.

In fact, the report concluded that if major increases in investment are not made —- and made soon —- Georgia could lose out on almost $600 billion in economic benefits and 320,000 jobs over the next 30 years. Unfortunately, the recent federal stimulus —- while welcome —- will do little to fill the gap, providing less than 1 percent of the necessary funding.

The truth is that we simply don’t have the roads, transit and other infrastructure to accommodate the nearly 10 million people who call our state home today. And with our population expanding by 1.5 million just since 2000 —- more people than live in the entire state of Maine —- we are ill prepared for future growth.

The good news is that there is broad agreement between the House and Senate that additional funding is needed. We have seen it firsthand in the leadership that so many lawmakers have shown, the hundreds of hours they have devoted to the issue and the many worthy ideas they have put forward.

While open to alternatives, our preference —- and the preference of Georgia voters, their local elected officials and business leaders across our state —- is for a regional solution to this pressing problem that can be implemented throughout the state.

This approach —- which gives local and regional communities a voice in when, where and how projects should be built and how much sales tax they should pay —- has been successful in many other states, and we believe it presents the best opportunity for securing needed funding in Georgia.

And if the people of Georgia are to approve new funding, they must have the confidence that any new revenue they approve will be spent as efficiently, effectively and equitably as possible. Therefore, we believe a sound transportation governance structure is needed to provide proper oversight and accountability and to ensure the maximum return on their investment.

The studies have been completed. The polls have been taken. The window is closing.

Now is the time for the General Assembly to act.

> George Israel is president & CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Sam A. Williams is president of the Metro Atlanta Chamber.