ATLANTA— House Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Roberts (R-Ocilla) today announced the House appointments to the twelve Regional Transportation Roundtable (RTR) Executive Committees. An RTR, created under HB 277- the Transportation Investment Act of 2010 – is made up of local elected officials within each of the special transportation regions. The RTRs will determine which transportation projects go before the voters for consideration in the 2012 General Primary election. As Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Roberts is tasked with appointing two members of the Georgia House of Representatives to serve on each RTR Executive Committee.
“These appointments mark another important step towards implementing the transportation funding bill passed during the 2010 legislative session, which will give Georgians a voice in how the state addresses our transportation needs,” said House Transportation Chairman Jay Roberts. “Each House member appointed to an RTR will play an important role in determining the key transportation projects that will ultimately go before the voters.”
Chairman Roberts appointed the following members to the RTRs:
Northwest Georgia Region (1): State Representatives Katie Dempsey and Tom Dickson
Georgia Mountains Region (2): State Representatives Michael Harden and Carl Rogers
Atlanta Regional Commission Region (3): State Representatives Sean Jerguson and Mike Jacobs
Three Rivers Region (4): State Representatives Billy Horne and Lynn Smith
Northeast Georgia Region (5): State Representatives Tom McCall and Len Walker
Middle Georgia Region (6): State Representatives Willie Talton and Buddy Harden
Central Savannah River Area Region (7): State Representatives Lee Anderson and Barbara Sims
River Valley Region (8): State Representatives Kip Smith and Richard Smith
Heart of Georgia Altamaha Region (9): State Representatives Butch Parrish and Jimmy Pruett
Southwest Georgia Region (10): State Representatives Ed Rynders and Jay Powell
Southern Georgia Region (11): State Representatives Jay Roberts and Mark Williams
Coastal Region (12): State Representatives Jon Burns and Ann Purcell
The twelve special transportation regions are geographically the same as the twelve state regional commissions. A map of the special transportation regions can be found by clicking here.
Makeup of Each Regional Transportation Roundtable:
Each RTR is made up of two members from each county. The counties will choose as their members one mayor, elected by the various mayors of that county, and either the chairperson, sole commissioner, mayor, or chief executive officer of the county governing authority.
Makeup of the Regional Transportation Roundtable Executive Committee:
The Regional Transportation Roundtable Executive Committee is comprised of eight officials – five RTR members elected by the RTR as a whole, two members of the Georgia House of Representatives appointed by the House Transportation Committee Chairman and one member of the Georgia State Senate appointed by the Senate Transportation Committee Chairman.
Process for Gathering Input:
The RTR Executive Committee will hold at least two public meetings in their region to receive public input on the region’s draft transportation project list. This draft transportation project list will then be approved by the RTR Executive Committee. At the final RTR meeting, the members of the RTR will vote on the transportation project list that will appear on the ballot for consideration by the voters of each region in the 2012 General Primary election.
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