Track legislation
Georgia's General Assembly is now in the busiest part of the legislative session. To see where particular pieces of legislation stand, check out The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Legislative Navigator .
Senate leaders unveiled their own plan Tuesday to raise nearly $1 billion for transportation improvements statewide, rejecting the House’s proposal and proposing instead a lower gas tax at the pump and more user fees.
The new proposal is nothing if not a work in progress, however, and will likely stay intact only a matter of days. That's because while the chamber's Transportation Committee quickly passed it Tuesday, Chairman Tommie Williams indicated he would consider changes to House Bill 170 as it moves toward a floor vote as soon as Friday.
Senate leaders’ goal is to avoid drama, get the bill passed and get it into negotiations. House and Senate leaders would then try to hash out a final compromise as the legislative session barrels toward an expected end on April 2.
“This is not a perfect bill, and this is not the end of the process,” said Williams, R-Lyons. “One of our goals was to try to keep gas prices as low as we could.”
As it stands now, the Senate’s new version of the bill includes:
- A 24 cents-per-gallon state excise tax on gasoline and diesel, down from the House's 29.2 cents-per-gallon proposal.
- An annual "highway user impact fee" of $10 per motorcycle; $25 per passenger vehicle; and $50 per big-rig truck or bus. It would be paid annually as vehicle owners renew their tags.
- A $5 rental car fee, charged at a flat rate for all rentals regardless of whether the person renting a vehicle is local or from out of state.
- A $250 million annual payment toward debt service for the state Department of Transportation to help offset the debt payments that currently come off the top of the department's motor fuel fund appropriations every year. GDOT is saddled with roughly $400 million in annual debt payments for projects it sought to fast-forward in the past decade, and the money is meant to allow the department to free up a matching amount toward its motor fuel fund to pay for projects statewide.
- Allowing local cities and counties to collect sales taxes on motor fuel — based on gas prices as high as $3.39 per gallon — for initiatives including special option local sales taxes, optional education sales taxes and local option sales taxes. Aside from that cap, there would be no restrictions on how local officials may use money collected through those initiatives.
The Senate’s proposal would also leave untouched several ideas included in the House’s version, such as:
- A user fee for electric vehicles of $200 per year for private cars and $300 per year for commercial vehicles.
- Elimination of the $5,000 state tax credit for the purchase of an electric car.
- Elimination of the state's aviation fuel tax credit worth about $25 million annually to air carriers including hometown giant Delta Air Lines.
The new version of HB 170 reflects what Williams has said is a more conservative caucus in the GOP-led Senate. It would rely heavily on Georgia residents who drive on the very roads in need of rebuilding or repair. And it does not guarantee anywhere close to an annual $1 billion intake of cash, something Gov. Nathan Deal desperately wanted.
While Senate leaders believe they would come close, their estimate is dependent on annual decision-making by lawmakers who may or may not want to, for example, budget $250 million a year to pay off borrowing costs of road and bridge projects. And as Senate Democrats pointed out Tuesday, that money would have to come from the state’s general fund and could otherwise be used for things such as schools and health care — other big-ticket priorities in addition to roads.
The proposal is, however, meant to diversify how the state raises new money toward its ailing roads and bridges. Senate leaders believe a higher gas tax backed by the House would bring in less money over time as car builders continue to improve on fuel efficiency. That’s why they focused on user fees. And by supporting the end of something such as the aviation fuel tax break that helps Delta, they want constituents to know they’re not coddling corporate interests.
"We have to show a commitment to the taxpayers of Georgia," said Senate Majority Whip Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega. "You have to fix your own house first, and this is an attempt to do that."
The proposal drew immediate ire from the rental car industry.
Jeff Mills, a vice president of finance for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, said about 70 percent of the company’s business in Georgia comes from local residents who may need a car following an accident or to take a family trip outside the state.
The Senate’s proposed $5 fee per rental transaction would be “a new tax,” said Mills, whose company includes Alamo and National. “We strongly oppose the efforts to increase the burden on our customers because they already pay their fair share.”
-----------------------------------------------------------
Transportation proposals
Here’s how the new Senate version of House Bill 1 compares with the version passed by the House on March 5:
About the Author
