Since the Republicans became the majority in the General Assembly 12 years ago, we have done a great job of reducing the size and scope of government. Agencies are working with fewer people and fewer tax dollars. For example, 10 years ago GDOT had 10,000 employees; now, they have 3,900 employees. Our motor fuel dollars have also declined due to an unsustainable funding model. Eight years ago, GDOT collected $1.3 billion in state motor fuel taxes (7.5 cents a gallon). Now, GDOT collects $1 billion, a $300 million decrease in eight years. Why has this happened? Cars are getting better fuel economy and electric vehicles sales have increased while they do not pay motor fuel taxes.
Our state is now the 8th largest in population — and continues to grow. Georgia has the 10th most mainline highway lanes in the nation and more than 14,000 bridges, but we are heavily dependent on federal highway funds (68 percent of our total funding is federal dollars). In contrast, the state of Florida is 27 percent federally funded. Why does this matter? When using federal dollars for capital projects you must adhere to federal guidelines, which are cumbersome and time consuming. If Georgia and Florida were to start on the same project at the same time, Florida, by using state funds instead of federal funds, would finish their project three years ahead of Georgia, thus increasing the cost of our project compared to theirs. Florida uses their federal dollars for resurfacing and maintenance, which do not require adherence to federal guidelines. We are at a crossroads; we must wean ourselves off of the federal dollars.
Recently, the joint House and Senate study committee analyzed future funding for infrastructure by traveling around the state and listening to taxpayers, including those from the three areas where T-SPLOST passed. After two years, taxpayers from all three T-SPLOST regions said they are happy that it passed, bringing “road improvements that would not have been done for 10 years.” The Mayor of Columbus testified and stated, “I was adamantly opposed to T-SPLOST, but, after I have seen the results, I would be the biggest cheerleader if it were on the ballot now.”
The committee agreed that we must lessen our dependence on federal dollars and add $1- $1.5 billion in state revenue to our current budget. We will begin putting a piece of legislation together based on several recommendations to address critical transportation funding. There is no one silver bullet that fixes our transportation needs; it will be a combination of several ideas.
One thing is for sure: doing nothing is not an option. We cannot continue to kick the can down the road. We are going to need to show political courage and leadership and make some tough decisions. If we don’t address congestion, Georgia will no longer be focused on recruiting new jobs; Georgia will face a retention issue and jobs will leave our state. Investing in infrastructure is a sound investment that makes common sense!
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