A task force set up to reorganize metro Atlanta mass transit has drafted a bill, but it won’t be introduced until it has more support, said Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, a leader of the group.
The task force had a deadline to submit a draft to the governor this week "repurposing" a state agency to serve as an umbrella over operating agencies such as MARTA. It has been struggling over how to divide power between the state, which provides little transit funding, and cities and counties that provide a lot.
The current version would create a transit council, dominated by county and city appointees, within the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. The council would make a wide range of decisions on metro transit but could be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the state authority.
The current GRTA board is appointed only by the governor. The new GRTA board would have a minority of members appointed by the House speaker and lieutenant governor.
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