The Georgia Legislature’s Transportation Committee has approved a new version of its transportation bill, which now heads to the Rules Committee.

Here are some highlights from various articles as to what’s changed and what’s stayed the same in this version of the bill.

• Local SPLOST and HOST funding won’t come from gas tax, but rate increases – From the Atlanta Business Chronicle. “…in a tradeoff aimed at addressing complaints from local governments, the bill would increase some of the hodgepodge of sales taxes charged at the local level – including Atlanta’s sales tax financing the city’s ongoing sewer system overhaul – from the current 1 percent to 1.25 percent. The increase would help offset the financial impact of a provision in the bill prohibiting local governments from collecting sales taxes on gasoline.”
• Specifics on the “hodgepodge” referenced above from the AJC ” HB 170 would leave alone SPLOSTs and similar taxes levied by school districts but require any revenue raised from motor fuel go to a wide variety of transportation uses. Any municipal option sales tax or local option sales tax used to roll back property taxes, however, would no longer apply to motor fuel and the rate would increase from 1 percent to 1.25 percent. The bill would still abolish existing state sales taxes on motor fuel and implement a new excise tax of 29.2 cents per gallon of gasoline and 33 cents per gallon of diesel fuel.”
• $5000 Electric car state income tax credit axed –  From the AJC – The bill would “also would end the state’s $5,000 income tax credit for the purchase of electric vehicles and create a new annual registration fee for electric cars. The fee would be $200 for personal vehicles and $300 for commercial cars, trucks, vans and buses.”
• Airline tax break on gas eliminated – The bill “strips Delta and other airlines of a tax break on the purchase of jet fuel.”  The airline industry has benefited from the tax break for over a decade according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
• Gas tax to increase 20 cents a gallon – A WABE article adds that the original and revised bill increase the state tax on gas by 20 cents a gallon.

Back in late January, we spoke with City Manager Peggy Merriss about the potential impact of lower revenue from HOST.  Here’s her thoughts on what it would mean for Decatur…

If the HOST sales tax is reduced by redirection to a state excise tax, we would either have to do fewer HOST projects, use more property tax revenues or repave fewer local streets.  And the local projects that are funded by sales tax revenue will not be funded by the state excise tax, as that will go to state projects.  There is no win for local governments in this equation.

We’ve followed up with the City Manager for her thoughts on the recently revised bill, which increases the tax rate from 1% to 1.25% to offset the loss of gas taxes.  We will update this post when we receive a reply.

UPDATE: Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss says that based on their rough estimates, the new proposal to exempt motor vehicle fuel, but up the % levied from 1% to 1.25% should be a “revenue neutral proposition”.

Photo courtesy of Chad