Bill would set golf cart standards

Lost in the publicity surrounding legislation about immigration, education and selling booze on Sundays, a bill about golf carts is quietly working its way through the Legislature.

The legislation, Senate Bill 240, overwhelmingly passed in the Senate earlier this month, and it is being debated by the House.

The bill would create a new class of personal transportation vehicles, commonly referred to as golf carts, that go no faster than 20 mph and weigh less than 1,375 pounds. It is designed to set a standard for jurisdictions that may choose to implement golf cart ordinances and allow residents to use them on residential streets and multiuse paths, such as those in Peachtree City.

The legislation has strong backing from the National Golf Car Manufacturers Association, whose members include the state's top three manufacturers of “golf cars” -- as they are called in the industry.

The ultimate goal is about the environment and jobs, said Fred Sommers, president of the NGCMA. About 90 percent of the carts used in North America are made in Georgia, and about 20 jobs would be created for every 1,000 vehicles made here, according to the association.

“We also reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and provide a second vehicle for people when gas is steadily rising,” Sommers said.

Twenty-three Georgia cities currently have golf cart ordinances, according to the Georgia Municipal Association, which along with the Association County Commissioners of Georgia has taken a neutral stance on the bill.

Supporters are hoping for a better ending than last year, when similar legislation was vetoed by then Gov. Sonny Perdue.

That version would have restricted the golf cart driving age to 16 and above and licensed drivers, moves that would have eliminated numerous students and elderly drivers who had given up their licenses, said James Lee, the owner of two carts and president of the Rockspray homeowners association in Peachtree City.

He bought his latest cart about five years ago for $2,500.

“If gas reaches $5 a gallon, you will see a lot more people,” he said. “You don’t live in Peachtree City and not drive them.”

This time around, the legislation includes no age requirements. It also would exempt from the equipment standards cities and counties — such as Peachtree City — that have golf cart ordinances in place before the bill would take effect on Jan. 1.