Thompson: Transportation Bill One of State's "Largest" Tax Increases

Submitted by Bruce Thompson (R-White)

Friday, we voted on the Senate’s version of House Bill 170, which would raise about $900 million dollars towards state transportation projects.

House Bill 170, as changed and passed by the Senate on Friday, provides for the following:

• 24 cent excise gas tax, up from the current 7.5 cents
• Removal of the 4 percent sales tax
• A new fee on renting a car of $5 per day
• A new fee for alternative fuel vehicles of $200 a year (or $300 for commercial vehicles); and
• Removal of the tax credit for purchasing a new low-emission or zero-emission vehicle

I have studied the transportation profile provided to me by the Department of Transportation, and I’m very concerned about the condition of the bridges and roads on this list. It is true this bill satisfies some of my concerns such as providing much needed DOT oversight and a possible committee assigned to study tax reform. But for reasons I’ll outline below, I am unable to support one of the largest tax increases in recent history. On Friday, I voted “no” on this bill.

This past year a study was released that reported a need to appropriate an additional $1.5 billion dollars in transportation funding. It is clear to all of the residents of District 14 that traffic is a serious problem as they travel to and from Atlanta. With the Atlanta Braves moving to their new location at the intersection of I-75/285, the current traffic congestion will only compound in the coming years. Additionally, the Lakepoint and Avatron projects in Emerson will bring nearly 8 million additional visitors. Transportation is a key component of the General Assembly’s infrastructure responsibilities.

As a relatively new legislator, I struggle to understand how our state has fallen so far behind in funding our infrastructure. The answer is fairly simple. First, the 4th penny of sales tax is constitutionally supposed to go to transportation, but legislators for years have ignored that and put it into the general budget. Second, past and current budgets have not reflected a priority to fund transportation. Both of these must change!

From the beginning, I have been prepared to vote for a budget and plan that reflects transportation as a priority, but our budget has transportation appropriated at around 4 percent of the total budget. It is my opinion that transportation must be a priority for our state to ensure the safety of our citizens as they travel and to continue fostering a business climate that attracts companies to Georgia.

At our current revenues, we would need transportation to be 10 to 11 percent of the budget appropriated to reflect the stated priority, and I believe we can accomplish this incrementally by committing future surplus revenues to transportation and by making some tough decisions on other areas of the budget.

Another concern is that the Department of Transportation currently receives $850 million annually from the state and another $1.2 billion from the federal government for a total of $2 billion. An increase of another nearly $900 million would be nearly a 50 percent increase in the DOT budget and that causes many other legislators and me tremendous concern. I am pleased in the DOT leadership changes and the commitment to change the public’s critical view stemming from previous audit findings, but the citizens demand strong levels of accountability and commitments to fiscal responsibility from this department.

I admit that this is a complicated and difficult situation we find ourselves in and doing nothing is not the answer. Here are a few ideas I do favor.

1) Appropriate an additional $200 million of this year’s surplus revenue to transportation instead of adding to other areas of the budget.
2) Appropriate the 4th penny of sales tax (which constitutionally we are supposed to already do) to transportation. That’s another $200 million a year.
3) Commit to dedicating 20 percent of future revenue surpluses to transportation

An amendment put forth by a fellow senator proposed reducing the gas excise tax to 20 cents a gallon (from the currently proposed 24 cents) and eliminating the new rental car fee. This approach raises $750 million versus the $900 million, but it minimizes the immediate impact to the tasters of Georgia while maintaining a competitive gas price with neighboring states.

Because House Bill 170 was still able to pass the Senate on Friday, it will return to the House where the Senate changes will either be agreed with or disagreed with. It is likely this bill will go to a conference committee between House and Senate members with more changes to come in a potential compromise bill.

It truly is an honor and privilege to serve as the Senator for District 14. Please feel free to contact me with your questions or comments.

Sen. Bruce Thompson represents the 14th Senate District, which includes portions of Bartow, Cherokee and Cobb counties. He may be reached at 404.656.0065 or by email at bruce.thompson@senate.ga.gov.

Photo credit: Georgia General Assembly