Transportation funding legislation receives House approval
The House of Representatives dealt with one of the most significant issues of the 2015 legislative session March 5 by approving a plan to provide additional revenue to be used for infrastructure maintenance and improvements in Georgia's transportation system.
By a vote of 123 to 46, House members approved HB 170 in response to the report of a special Joint Study Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Funding, which concluded that Georgia needs a minimum of $1 billion to maintain the state's existing roads, bridges, air and transit system infrastructure.
After substantial changes in the House Transportation Committee and the House Rules Committee, the major provisions of the legislation include the following:
- Moving the state to an excise-tax only system on motor fuels. HB 170 calls for a 29.2 cents per gallon excises tax, to be indexed in future years to account for changes in vehicles' gas mileage efficiency. Sponsors of the measure said the excise tax would be a more stable and sustainable funding source than sales taxes on motor fuels, which rise and fall dramatically based on the price at the pump.
- Special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) would continue to be levied on gasoline if renewed by the voters, but those revenues derived from motor fuel purchases would be dedicated to transportation purposes.
- Local option sales taxes implemented for the purpose of rolling back local property taxes would no longer be collected on motor fuels, but the maximum rate on those sales taxes would be increased to 1.25 percent to account for the tax base loss to local governments.
Other provisions of HB 170 call for the recapitalization of the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank as a source for loans and grants, elimination of the sales tax exemption on jet fuels and an end to the Governor's authority to suspend the collection of state motor fuel taxes, except in emergencies and with two-thirds approval of the General Assembly.
HB 170 now goes to the Senate for its consideration.
Other legislation approved by the House and sent to the Senate in the past week includes:
- HB 71, which would require more public disclosure of information related to decisions of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles.
- HB 190, which would require ride-sharing companies to carry $1 million worth of commercial liability insurance on their drivers.
- HB 200, which would increase the income tax credit for electric vehicle chargers and compressed natural gas fueling appliances.
- HB 213, which would remove the restrictions on how the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority can use sales tax proceeds.
- HB 315, which would change the name of the Technical College System of Georgia to the Georgia Career College System.
- HB 328, which would enact reforms recommended by the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform.
- HB 339, which would extend for three years a state income tax credit for film, video or digital production companies.
- HB 504, which would require college students residing in campus housing to sign a document stating they have been vaccinated against meningococcal disease within the past five years.
Unemployment rate declines to 6.4 percent
Georgia's unemployment rate fell from 6.6 percent to 6.4 percent in January, its lowest point since July 2008 and nearly a full percentage point down from the 7.3 percent recorded in January 2014.
State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said, "Our unemployment rate dropped for the seventh month in a row as we had 4,400 fewer jobs available than in December. We also had fewer new claims for unemployment insurance benefits, which is a measure of new layoffs. While we lost (temporary holiday jobs) in January, as we often do, we had the strongest January-to-January growth we've had in 20 years. And six of our job sectors grew at least 3 percent."
