TSPLOST revived in House; federal funding

ABH reports:

Georgia House leaders revived an effort Monday for a 1 percent statewide sales tax that would funnel $25 billion into transportation projects during the next decade across Georgia.

The proposal comes loaded with transportation projects to coax legislators who have been reluctant to support past tax-raising efforts - and who may be even more wary this year amid the economic slump.

State Rep. Vance Smith, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said he's confident the measure will earn the support it needs in the House. But it remains to be seen whether it will win over voters in the Senate.

[The Senate] is pressing its own plan that would allow regions to band together to charge a one-cent sales tax to fund transportation projects. The House begrudgingly embraced the regional plan last year, only to watch as the effort fell one vote short in the Senate.

The proposal promises some juicy dollops for traffic-choked metro Atlanta, including funding for a streetcar route in the heart of the city, a rail line that would stretch to Athens and money for the Beltline project, which would create a ring of parks and light rail around Atlanta.

Federal funding from the bailout/stimulus plan may also boost transit support.