T-SPLOST: Referendum Un-Constitutional?

Some state legislators are blowing the whistle on the Transportation Investment Act (TIA), commonly known as T-SPLOST. The regional 1% sales tax hike referendum is planned to be on the ballot July 31, the statewide primary election date. But if a Cobb legislator has his way the $6.2 billion tax vote will be postponed for two years to fix “fatal flaws” in the legislation.

State Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth), Reps. Rich Golick (R-Smyrna) and Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City have filed House Resolution 1350 and the enabling legislation, House Bill 938 in an attempt to salvage the regional tax proposal they claim is “un-constitutional”.

“I believe the TIA in its current structure is not constitutional under the Georgia constitution,” Setzler said, adding that there was broad consensus among General Assembly members in 2008 and 2009 a constitutional amendment had to be approved to address the transportation funding regionally. But such an amendment was never passed.

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Rep aims to postpone TSPLOST

The legislation would;

* Eliminate the TIA referendum set for July 31;

* Ask voters to amend the state constitution in November to allow for a regional transportation mechanism, thereby solving the question of whether the TIA is constitutional or not;

* Allow counties to band together in whatever combination they want through intergovernmental agreements and call for a transportation referendum;

* Allow counties to opt in to the proposed tax once their county commissions have ratified a transportation project list;

* Call for a July 2014 transportation referendum;

* Give counties the option to levy a fraction of a penny for the 10-year tax;

* Require the county or counties who are sponsoring a fixed transit system, such as light rail, to agree to pay for the ongoing operations of that transit system after the 10-year tax.

Setzler said he and other lawmakers have questioned the legality of the tax for years.

“I believe the TIA in its current structure is not constitutional under the Georgia constitution,” Setzler said, adding that there was broad consensus among General Assembly members in 2008 and 2009 a constitutional amendment had to be approved to address the transportation funding regionally. But such an amendment was never passed.

“Secondly, I believe any long-term regional solution needs to have an opt-in process,” he said. “(The counties) form the regions themselves, and arbitrary regions are not established by the General Assembly, and most importantly that it gives counties the power of self-determination. That’s paramount.”

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Rep aims to postpone TSPLOST

My Opinion: The Transportation Investment Act (TIA) is a multi-billion dollar boondoggle. It appears to be unconstitutional and the legislators should postpone the vote and correct their mistakes.

If not, voters should vote NO on the July 31 ballot referendum.