ATLANTA – State Representative Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville), Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, today introduced House Bill 930, legislation that would create a new regional governance and funding structure for transit in the 13-county metropolitan Atlanta region. Rep. Tanner announced the bill during a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol. He was joined by Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), Rep. Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus) and several other state representatives, as well as Fulton County Commissioner Liz Hausmann, Cobb County Commissioner Bob Ott and Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash.
“It is important that we understand the problem – that Atlanta is congested. We are talking about a quality of life issue and an economic development issue,” said Rep. Kevin Tanner. “This region is adding 100,000 people every single year – that’s 1 million people every single decade. We cannot continue to grow within this region when we have companies telling us that they will not locate in an area that does not have mobility services offered to their employees. Transit is a regional problem, and it demands a regional solution. We cannot continue to address transit within silos.”
“I am proud that over the past several years, the House has been leading the conversation on transit, and we recognize that investing in transit is a necessary step if we want to mitigate traffic congestion, improve freight logistics and attract more world class companies and the employees they want to hire to our state,” said Speaker David Ralston. “Our business community has made a compelling case that transit has to be an integral part of our planning if we wish to remain the best state in the nation in which to do business, and more than that, particularly in our Metropolitan Atlanta region, transit is about quality of life. I want our capital city and the surrounding communities to continue to be a great place to live, work and raise a family for generations to come, and transit is one of the ways we can achieve that goal. This legislation is the result of countless hours of work by several stakeholders, and I want to thank and recognize the good work of the House Commission on Transit Governance and Funding.”
“Having traveled through the state with the House Commission on Transit Governance and Funding, I can assure you that what we are doing now is very, very timely, and I wholeheartedly support a regional governance structure for transit in our state,” said Rep. Calvin Smyre. “The entire purpose of this bill is to produce more transit riders, and the General Assembly has a historic opportunity before us.”
The bill intends to improve the coordination, integration and efficiency of transit in the Metro Atlanta region and promote a seamless and high-quality transit system for the 13-county Metro Atlanta region. Metro Atlanta is defined as the 13-county region currently under the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority’s (GRTA) jurisdiction, namely: Cherokee, Clayton, Coweta, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale counties.
The bill would create the Atlanta-region Transit Link (the ‘ATL’), a regional transit governance structure that would coordinate transit planning and funding and would oversee all Metro Atlanta transit activity, including planning, funding and operations. The bill would empower the ATL to contract for the delivery of transit services and to deliver capital projects, and the ATL would also ensure unified transit branding across the region. The ATL would be governed by a 14-member Board of Directors and its core activity would be to develop the Regional Transit Plan. This plan would design an ideal future transit system for the Metro Atlanta region, identifying and prioritizing the projects and initiatives required to develop optimal region-wide transit.
This bill would also improve access to transit funding for the region from state and local sources, and the measure would preserve the current operational and funding autonomy of transit providers, such as MARTA.
HB 930 is a product of the House Commission on Transit Governance and Funding, which was established by House Resolution 848 during the 2017 legislative session to study Georgia’s transit needs and analyze ways for the state to adequately plan and provide for those needs. The commission held hearings across the state during the summer and fall of 2017, and the commission will continue its work through the remainder of 2018.
For more information on the House Commission on Transit Governance Funding, please click here.
Representative Kevin Tanner represents the citizens of District 9, which includes portions of Dawson, Forsyth and Lumpkin counties. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and currently serves as Chairman of the Transportation Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education and the Education, Intragovernmental Coordination, Natural Resources & Environment and Special Rules committees.
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