04/30/2013

House Bill 817: Strategic Transportation Investments

Governor's Plan Rolled Out in House Committee Today

The Governor's transportation mobility plan was rolled out in House Bill 817 today in the House Transportation Committee.  Rep. Bill Brawley handled the bill in committee and called on Gen. Jim Trogdon to discuss the need for a change.  Trogdon gave the same presentation he gave at the CAPA Annual Meeting in Savannah. (A copy of that presentation is on the CAPA website under Resources.) Committee members asked questions and raised concerns.  Most questions centered on the process for ranking projects and how rural areas would fare under the proposed plan.  The bill received a favorable report and will now go to the House Finance Committee.  Assuming it gets a favorable report in Finance, it will then go to House Appropriations.  

I anticipate that there will be much more debate in the next two committees because members will have had a chance to read the bill by then and will have questions.  As I write this the current language is still not online.  If you look it up on the General Assembly site you will find language for a prior version of 817.  You are looking for the Committee Substitute.  It should be available soon.  Also, House members have been promised documents that will show how their districts will fare under the new plan in comparison to the current formula.  I hope to have a similar document to share with you this week.

All this is to say I have not been able to read the entire bill yet but will do so as soon as it is available.  I think it is likely that the currently proposed formula of 40% of funds designated for statewide projects, 40% for regional projects, and 20% for the division will be debated and possibly changed.  My bet is a bill with a breakdown of 40-30-30.  If the bill makes it out of the House it will then go through a similar process in the Senate.

On another note, rumor has it that the Senate will release their tax reform plan tomorrow.  Things are just starting to get interesting on Jones Street.  Stay tuned.