05 LC 34
0279
House
Bill 523
By:
Representative Davis of the
109th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Article 9 of Chapter 9 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority, so as to prohibit
expenditures under certain conditions; to require signed agreements before
expenditures are made; to provide for related matters; to provide an effective
date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Article
9 of Chapter 9 of Title 46 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to the Georgia Rail Passenger Authority, is amended by inserting new Code
Section 46-9-276.1 immediately following Code Section 46-9-276 to read as
follows:
"46-9-276.1.
Notwithstanding
any provision of this chapter or in Chapter 10 of Title 28 to the contrary, the
Georgia Rail Passenger Authority and the Georgia Department of Transportation
shall not make any capital expenditures, including the expenditures defined as
being included in 'cost of the project' in Code Section 46-9-272, relating to a
commuter rail project without first obtaining a binding contract with the rail
service provider to provide an agreed upon level of service on the commuter rail
project for a period of 20 years. In addition, agreements with all of the
county and municipal governments along the proposed commuter rail project must
be executed, including a provision that calls for the county and municipal
governments to put into escrow the estimated amount of operating subsidies they
would be responsible for over a ten-year period. After the first ten-year
period the amount of the escrow would be based on actual operating subsidies
from the prior ten-year period, and that amount would again be paid into escrow
in ten-year
increments."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.