07 LC 14
9678
House
Resolution 509
By:
Representatives Smith of the
129th
and Floyd of the
147th
A
RESOLUTION
Proposing
an amendment to the Constitution so as to provide for the creation of a
Transportation Trust Fund; to provide for a levy of a 1 percent sales and use
tax on the purchase of tangible goods and certain services at retail; to provide
for the deposit of the proceeds of such tax into such trust fund; to provide for
the governance of such trust fund by the State Transportation Board and
oversight of such trust fund by a Transportation Trust Fund Oversight Committee;
to provide for the administration of such fund by a Transportation Trust Fund
Agency; to provide for purposes and limitations on expenditures from such trust
fund; to provide for the periodic submission of the continuance of such levy to
the people for approval or disapproval; to provide for the authority of the
General Assembly with respect to the foregoing; to provide for other matters
relative to the foregoing; to provide for the submission of this amendment for
ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.
BE
IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
The
Constitution is amended by adding at the end of Article III thereof a new
Section XI to read as follows:
"SECTION
XI.
TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND
TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND
Paragraph
I.
Transportation
Trust Fund; Transportation Trust Fund Oversight
Committee. (a) There is created a trust
fund of perpetual duration for use in all activities incident to providing an
adequate system of transportation in this state. Revenues raised, collected, or
appropriated for purposes of the fund shall be paid into and disbursed from the
fund as provided by law without being subject to the limitations of Article III,
Section IX, Paragraph I; Article III, Section IX, Paragraph IV(c); Article III,
Section IX, Paragraph VI(a); or Article VII, Section III, Paragraph II. The
General Assembly is authorized to appropriate moneys to the fund, but no moneys
subject to the provisions of Article III, Section IX, Paragraph VI(b) shall be
appropriated to the fund. Toll revenues generated by any project funded in
whole or in part by the fund may be paid into the fund as provided by law. The
funds in the fund shall be as fully invested as is practicable, consistent with
the requirements to make disbursements therefrom, and the return from such
investments shall be deposited in the fund for further investment or
disbursement. The governance of the fund shall be vested in the State
Transportation Board as provided by law.
(b)
In the first partial and first full fiscal years of the existence of the fund
there shall disbursed from the fund for all purposes not more than 80 percent of
the moneys paid or deposited into the fund from time to time in such fiscal
years. From the second through the fifth full fiscal years of the existence of
the fund there shall be disbursed from the fund for all purposes in each fiscal
year not more than 80 percent of the moneys paid or deposited into the fund in
the previous fiscal year. From the sixth to the ninth full fiscal years of the
existence of the fund there shall be disbursed from the fund for all purposes in
each fiscal year not more than 90 percent of the moneys paid or deposited into
the fund in the previous fiscal year. After the ninth full fiscal year of the
existence of the fund disbursements from the fund shall be as provided by
law.
(c)
The expenditure of moneys paid into the fund shall be subject to all the rules,
regulations, and restrictions otherwise imposed on the expenditure of
appropriations by provisions of this Constitution and laws of this state, unless
such provisions are in conflict with the provisions of this section. In the
event of invasion of this state by land, sea, or air or in case of a major
catastrophe so proclaimed by the Governor, said funds may be utilized for
defense or relief purposes on the executive order of the Governor.
(d)
There shall be a Transportation Trust Fund Oversight Committee which shall
consist of one member appointed by the Governor, one member appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor, one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the chairpersons of the Transportation Committees and the
Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the
chairperson of the State Transportation Board and the commissioner of
transportation. Appointed members shall serve during the term of office of
their appointing officer and until their successors are appointed and qualified.
The qualifications, compensation, and removal from office of appointed members
shall be as provided by law. The committee shall be charged with the general
oversight of the governance and administration of the Transportation Trust Fund
Agency and with such other powers and duties as provided by law.
Paragraph
II.
Transportation
Trust Fund Agency; duties and purposes.
(a) The maintenance and administration of the Transportation Trust Fund and the
direction of disbursements therefrom shall be vested in a Transportation Trust
Fund Agency as provided by law. The State Transportation Board shall select an
executive director who shall be the chief executive officer of the agency and
shall have such powers and duties as provided by law. No appropriated funds
shall be utilized to operate the agency. The agency shall be subject to public
contracting laws applicable to the Department of Transportation except as
provided by law. The agency may employ or retain experts, employees, agents,
and attorneys in such manner and for such purposes as provided by law. The
agency shall be empowered as provided by law to issue negotiable revenue bonds
and other instruments payable from and secured by the fund or other assets of
the agency for the purposes authorized by this section. Such bonds and other
instruments except as otherwise provided in this section shall constitute
obligations of the agency and not of the state, but the bonds of the agency for
all authorized purposes may be guaranteed as provided by Article VII, Section
IV, Paragraph III. The agency shall be an instrumentality of the state and
shall have such additional responsibilities, powers, and duties as provided by
law.
(b)
The agency shall disburse proceeds from the fund or from the proceeds of bonds
and other instruments issued by the agency for the following purposes as
provided by law:
(1)
To fund the Developmental Highway System and Governor´s Road Improvement
Program;
(2)
To fund a program of local assistance to counties and municipalities to pay all
or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, paving,
and completing public roads not on the state highway system;
(3)
To fund the rehabilitation and replacement of deficient, hazardous, unsafe, or
inadequate bridges throughout the state;
(4)
To supplement operating costs of local public transit and bus
systems;
(5)
To fund a program of local assistance to counties and municipalities to pay all
or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving,
resurfacing, and completing public general aviation airports not serving
commercial international flights;
(6)
To match and supplement federal funding for bikeways and sidewalk
improvements;
(7)
To fund the study and implementation of high-speed intrastate and interstate
passenger rail and freight rail services;
(8)
To fund the costs of planning, surveying, constructing, improving, paving, and
completing high-occupancy toll lane systems, managed lane systems, and
truck-only toll lane systems on the federal-aid and state highway systems;
and
(9)
To defray the operating expenses of the agency.
(c)
Disbursements from the fund or from the proceeds of bonds or other instruments
repayable from the fund shall not be subject to any allocation or distribution
formulas applicable to funds subject to the provisions of Article III, Section
IX, Paragraph VI(b). No law shall be enacted that causes any such allocation or
distribution of funds subject to such provision to take into account any
disbursements from the fund or from the proceeds of such bonds or other
instruments.
(d)
The agency, with the approval of the State Transportation Board, is authorized
to disburse moneys from the fund from time to time to departments, authorities,
instrumentalities, and political subdivisions of the state for the purposes of
this Paragraph, subject to such terms and conditions as the agency, with the
approval of the State Transportation Board, shall impose or which shall be
provided by law, but no moneys may be appropriated from the fund. All such
departments, authorities, instrumentalities, and political subdivisions are
authorized to receive such disbursements on such terms and conditions, and such
disbursements, if unexpended as provided by law, shall lapse to the fund and not
to the general fund.
(e)
The Department of Transportation is authorized to transfer by intergovernmental
contract moneys appropriated or available to such department to the agency for
expenditure for the purposes of subparagraphs (b)(1) through (b)(8) of this
Paragraph, subject to any limitations on the expenditure of such funds otherwise
provided for by law or this Constitution. Such contract shall provide that such
moneys shall be expended by the agency only for the purposes designated by the
department, and such moneys, if unexpended under the terms of such contract,
shall lapse to such department and not to the general fund or the trust
fund.
Paragraph
III.
Levy
for purposes of the Transportation Trust Fund; terms, conditions, and
disposition of proceeds. From January 1
of the year following the year of the ratification of the amendment which added
this section to this article and for a period of ten years thereafter there
shall be a levy of 1 percent as a sales and use tax in this state. Such levy
shall be imposed and collected by law and in the same manner and subject to the
same terms, conditions, and exemptions as the state sales and use tax provided
for by general law; provided, further, that should Georgia law or this
Constitution be amended to eliminate such state sales and use tax, said levy of
1 percent shall continue to be imposed in the same manner and subject to the
same terms and conditions in effect immediately prior to the effective date of
the Act or amendment eliminating such state sales and use tax until terminated
as provided by this section. The proceeds of such levy shall be deposited into
the fund created by Paragraph I of this section.
Paragraph
IV.
Submission
of levy for
reapproval.
The General Assembly shall provide by law that at a general or special election
occurring in each tenth year following the year of the ratification of the
amendment which added this section to this article a proposal for the approval
or disapproval of the levy imposed pursuant to Paragraph III of this section
shall be submitted to the electors of the entire state qualified to vote for
members of the General Assembly unless such a proposal has been previously
submitted and disapproved. If such proposal is approved by a majority of such
electors, then such levy shall be continued for a period of ten years commencing
on January 1 of the year following such approval. If such proposal is not so
approved, then such levy shall not be continued pursuant to such Paragraph
notwithstanding any provision of law unless subsequently resubmitted to such
electors and so approved. The General Assembly may provide by law for such
resubmission at a general or special election occurring in an even-numbered
year, and if approved such levy shall be reimposed notwithstanding any provision
of law and the year of such approval shall be considered the year of the
ratification of the amendment which added this section for purposes of this
Paragraph."
SECTION
2.
The
above proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be published and submitted as
provided in Article X, Section I, Paragraph II of the Constitution. The ballot
submitting the above proposed amendment shall have written or printed thereon
the following:
|
"( ) YES
( ) NO
|
Shall
the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide for a temporary levy of
a 1 percent sales tax for a period of ten years to endow a Transportation Trust
Fund for the purpose of financing transportation improvements throughout the
state, and to provide for a vote of the people every ten years as to whether to
continue such levy?"
|
All
persons desiring to vote in favor of ratifying the proposed amendment shall vote
"Yes." All persons desiring to vote against ratifying the proposed amendment
shall vote "No." If such amendment shall be ratified as provided in said
Paragraph of the Constitution, it shall become a part of the Constitution of
this state.