Transportation Funding Bill Draws Attention From Counties

Today is Crossover Day at the Georgia General Assembly.

By the end of today, a bill must pass either the State House or State Senate to have a chance of being passed this year.

One bill that has already passed that has drawn a lot of attention is House Bill 170, the Transportation Funding Act.

The bill passed in the House recently by a vote of 123 to 46 and is now on its way to the Senate.

House Bill 170 that would convert the current gas tax system to a flat 29.2 cents per gallon tax.

Currently, gasoline in Georgia is subjected to an excise tax of 7.5 cents per gallon, a 4% sales tax and in most places another local sales tax of 3%-4%.

Some area counties are already voicing their strong opposition, concerned about a potential loss of revenue because of that change.

One of those is Franklin County.

Franklin County Commission Chair Thomas Bridges said he has already spoken to State Senator John Wilkinson.

“I personally went down and spoke to Sen. Wilkinson and he said he would oppose anything that would harm Franklin County,” Bridges said. “As I understand it, the bill would only harm a few counties statewide and that’s probably why it picked up the momentum it did and passed in the House.”

House Bill 170 has undergone a number of revisions from its original version, and with this latest revision, Franklin County would not lose the $3 million in sales tax revenue initially feared.

However, Bridges said any loss of revenue to Franklin County from gas sales would hit the county hard.

“It would not only cost the county about $550,000 in losses,” he said. “But taking a hit of $550,000 is still devastating to our county.”

Bridges said with budget talks for Franklin County on the horizon, there could be major budget cuts if House Bill 170 becomes law.

“If the bill passes, as we get into the budget this spring, we’re going to have to look at hard situations and make hard decisions on which route to go,” Bridges said.

Bridges said Franklin County would be reviewing the budget numbers when talks begin in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, Stephens County officials said they are monitoring the bill as it moves through the Legislature.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said he is also monitoring the bill, but adds it is too soon to tell what, if any, effect the bill would have at this point.

(MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia contributed to this article)