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Week Seven Update
Transportation Bill Poll
A recent poll showed that a majority of voters in Georgia would pay higher gas taxes to fund transportation improvements. 603 likely voters participated in the poll from February 8th to the 10th, and 57% of people who responded said they would be willing to pay more in gas tax if the money were going toward transportation. The tax that is proposed is a likely 29.2 cent per gallon excise tax on gas. Read more…
Transportation Bill Passes Through House Committee
Governor The transportation funding bill has passed a Georgia House committee. After concern from local governments, the funding bill has been edited sot that local governments can continue collecting sales tax on fuel. The money raised from this tax by the local government would have to be used for transportation including school buses, and other transportation needs. The bill would create a $200 charge on electric vehicle users, and would eliminate the $5000 dollar tax credit for electric vehicles. 3 members of the committee voted against the bill. Representative Jay Roberts believes that while adding the verbiage to give local government some tax revenue, they still are not completely satisfied with the bill. Read more…
MARTA Receives Federal Grant
MARTA will be adding a new track safety system between the Medical Center and North Springs stations after receiving a $4.2 million grant from the federal government. The new safety system will be added over 6 miles of track to alert maintenance workers when oncoming trains are coming and control personnel where the track workers are. The money comes from a transportation law that Congress passed in 2012. In addition to adding the safety system, it also included $995,000 to a non-profit in Atlanta that turns buses into mobile generators. Read more…
Governor Deal’s Takeover District
People in support of charter schools want their institutions to be exempt from Governor Deal’s takeover district. Deal will need backing from two-thirds of the lawmakers as well as a statewide ballot for the amendment to the Georgia constitution. Two charter schools were included on the list of institutions that were “chronically failing” and supporters of the school argue that the takeover district will not necessarily bring success. Leaders at charter schools create contracts with the government in which they agree to be held accountable in exchange for more flexibility in their methods. The state commission decides whether or not to renew contracts based on student performance, and financial/ operational goals. For this reason many supporters of charter schools already believe there is a system in place to keep them accountable and feel that it is unnecessary to have the takeover district impact them. Read more…