Under legislation advancing in the Georgia House and Senate, Atlanta-area citizens and business owners could be impacted by mass transit expansions in the coming years.
Senate Bill 386 would allow 13 counties in the local area to seek voter approval to raise hundreds of millions of revenue in sales taxes, which would be designated for public transportation projects. The bill would also establish a new board that would oversee transit planning and construction in the area. SB 386 passed the Senate 51 to 4.
The House also passed a similar measure, House Bill 930, which would authorize county votes about tax increases to pay for transit expansions, such as those being considered in Fulton, Gwinnett, and Cobb counties. Both SB 386 and HB 930 would also require counties to get approval for their transit projects lists from the new regional board in order to coordinate projects across county lines, streamline regional transit systems, and consolidate all the different agencies that provide transit service.
Finally, Senate Bill 460, which was also approved by the chamber, would allow the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) to contract with local governments outside its current service area in order to provide transit services.
