Fr. BOC Studying New Transportation Funding Act

Franklin County Commission Chair Thomas Bridges says it is too soon to tell how the county will deal with the passage of HB170 – the State Transportation Funding Act of 2015.

Georgia lawmakers approved a transportation funding plan late Tuesday night that they said will raise $900 million through changes to the state’s gas tax and new fees on electric cars and hotel visits.

State Representative Alan Powell was one of the 41 in the House who voted against the bill.

Powell has said he believes there are other more practical ways to raise extra money for transportation projects other than a sales tax, such as toll roads.

The compromise between House and Senate versions of the plan, which now heads to Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk, hinged on the amount of excise taxes people would pay per gallon on gasoline, with proceeds dedicated to transportation.

Lawmakers set that at 26 cents per gallon, with diesel fuel at 29 cents per gallon and expect it to raise $700 million.

The proposal also lets local governments continue to collect local taxes on gasoline sales, but caps the maximum price per gallon at $3 to calculate those fees.

In addition, the bill sets up a complicated process for counties and regions to impose additional local taxes for transportation needs with some limits on how much they can charge.

Franklin County is one of a number of counties bordering other states that have been fighting against the bill because of fears of the loss of sales tax revenue.

On Wednesday, Bridges said he and the Board of Commissioners will now have to study the revised bill before deciding what steps to take next.

“When it started, it was devastating to us, but I was glad to see the changes so we wouldn’t lose near as much in revenue,” he said. “It’s too early for me to comment, but I’m hoping the final draft of the bill is not as critical to us as it was originally.”

Initially, HB170 eliminated all local sales tax revenue, which would have cost Franklin County some $3-million a year in lost revenue.

The bill underwent numerous changes in both the House and Senate which reduced the loss to some $500-thousand dollars.

Thomas said the board discussed the potential passage of the bill at their work session Tuesday evening and plan to take up the matter again on Monday at their April meeting.