The Senate took a whack at it’s own plan Friday to raise nearly $1 billion for transportation improvements across Georgia, passing a bill that falls short of that goal in order to win support from conservatives opposed to new fees and taxes.
The 29-25 vote on House Bill 170 sends the legislation back to the House, essentially starting negotiations over how best to raise the money needed for an aging network of roads and bridges statewide. But by eliminating what had been a proposed new "highway impact user fee" worth more than $201 million, the Senate has essentially stopped short of the state's goal despite a deadline to find a compromise by April 2 — the expected last day of the legislative session.
As it stands, the Senate’s plan would raise about $840 million.
Here’s what it does:
- A 24 cents-per-gallon state excise tax on gasoline and diesel, down from the House's 29.2 cents-per-gallon proposal.
- A $5 rental car fee, charged at a flat rate for all rentals regardless of whether the person renting a vehicle is local or from out of state.
- A $250 million annual payment toward debt service for the state Department of Transportation to help offset the debt payments that currently come off the top of the department's motor fuel fund appropriations every year. GDOT is saddled with roughly $400 million in annual debt payments for projects it sought to fast-forward in the past decade, and the money is meant to allow the department to free up a matching amount toward its motor fuel fund to pay for projects statewide.
- Allowing cities and counties to collect sales taxes on motor fuel — based on gas prices as high as $3.39 per gallon — for initiatives including special option local sales taxes, optional education sales taxes and local option sales taxes. Aside from that cap, there would be no restrictions on how local officials may use money collected through those initiatives.
Changes made on the floor Friday include:
- Eliminate what had been a proposed annual "highway user impact fee" of $10 per motorcycle, $25 per passenger vehicle and $50 per big-rig truck or bus. It would have been paid annually as vehicle owners renewed their tags. By itself, this was worth more than $201 million toward the $1 billion goal.
The Senate left untouched several ideas included in the House’s original version of HB 170, such as:
- A user fee for electric vehicles of $200 per year for private cars and $300 per year for commercial vehicles.
- Elimination of the $5,000 state tax credit for the purchase or lease of an electric car.
- Elimination of the state's aviation fuel tax credit worth about $25 million annually to air carriers, including hometown giant Delta Air Lines.
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