07 LC
18 5898
Senate
Bill 233
By:
Senators Thompson of the 5th and Stoner of the 6th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to highways,
bridges, and ferries, so as to change certain provisions regarding collections,
expenditures, and exemptions with respect to certain revenue regarding roads; to
change certain provisions regarding priority of expenditures from the State
Public Transportation Fund; to change certain provisions regarding allocation of
state and federal road funds; to provide for related matters; to provide for a
contingent effective date; to provide for automatic repeal under certain
circumstances; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
32 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to highways, bridges, and
ferries, is amended by revising Code Section 32-5-21, relating to the priority
of expenditures from the State Public Transportation Fund, as
follows:
"32-5-21.
Subject
to the restrictions on expenditures imposed by Code Section 32-5-23, the State
Public Transportation Fund shall be expended by the department in the following
order;
provided, however, that 16.66 percent of the total amount of taxes collected at
the rate of 3 percent under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section
48-9-14 shall be expended in accordance with paragraph (6) of this Code
section:
(1)
To pay the rentals on lease contracts entered into pursuant to the authority of
the Constitution of Georgia;
(2)
To pay into the State of Georgia Guaranteed Revenue Debt Common Reserve Fund the
amount of the highest annual debt service requirements for an issue of
guaranteed revenue debt for public road projects initiated pursuant to Code
Section 32-10-67, upon its issuance, when the guarantee of the specific issue
has been authorized by an appropriation of moneys governed by Article III,
Section IX, Paragraph VI(b) of the Constitution and the appropriation meets the
requirements for such debt as provided by Article VII, Section IV, Paragraph
III(b) of the Constitution;
(3)
To pay the costs of operating the department and for any emergencies or unusual
situations;
(4)
To pay the costs necessary to comply with the conditions of federal-aid
apportionments to the state for the planning, surveying, constructing, paving,
and improving of the public roads in Georgia;
(5)
Next, a sum equal to at least 15 percent of the State Public Transportation
Fund, said sum to be used as follows:
(A)
One-third to pay all or part of the costs of the planning, surveying,
constructing, improving, paving, and completing public roads not on the state
highway system;
(B)
One-third to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying, constructing,
improving, and paving public roads on the state highway system; and
(C)
The remaining one-third to pay all or part of the costs of planning, surveying,
constructing, reconstructing, paving, and improving the public roads of Georgia
determined by the department to be most in need of such work;
and
(6)
A sum equal to 16.66 percent of the total amount of taxes collected at the rate
of 3 percent under paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 48-9-14
shall be expended for transportation purposes, as determined by the department,
other than public roads and bridges; and
(6)(7)
After the requirements set out in the foregoing provisions of this Code section
have been met, the remainder of the State Public Transportation Fund to be
expended to pay the costs of maintaining, improving, constructing, and
reconstructing the public roads of the state highway system, for maintaining
roads within and leading to state parks, and for constructing public roads by
department forces."
SECTION
2.
Said
title is further amended by revising subsection (a) of Code Section 32-5-30,
relating to the allocation of state and federal road funds, as
follows:
"(a)(1)
The total of expenditures from the State Public Transportation Fund under
paragraphs (4), (5),
and
(6), and
(7) of Code Section 32-5-21 plus
expenditures of federal funds appropriated to the department, not including any
federal funds specifically designated for projects that have been earmarked by a
member of Congress in excess of appropriated funds shall be budgeted by the
department over two successive budgeting periods every decade.
(2)
The first budgeting period shall commence immediately following redistricting of
congressional districts and shall be for a duration of five years. The second
budgeting period shall continue until the beginning of the budgeting period
following the next redistricting of congressional districts after each decennial
census; provided, however, if the congressional districts have been redrawn
prior to a new decennial census, but after the approval of an existing map based
on the last decennial census, the budgeting period shall include two successive
budgeting periods. The first budgeting period shall end upon approval of the new
redistricting and the second budgeting period shall commence from the date such
redrawn congressional districts have been approved and shall continue until the
next budgeting period following the next redistricting of congressional
districts. The department shall budget such expenditures such that at the end of
such budgeting period funding obligations equivalent to at least 80 percent of
such total for such budgeting period shall have been divided equally among the
congressional districts in this state, as those districts existed at the
commencement of such budgeting period, for public road and other public
transportation purposes in such districts.
SECTION
3.
This
Act shall become effective on January 1, 2009; provided, however, that this Act
shall only become effective on January 1, 2009, upon the ratification of a
resolution at the November, 2008, state-wide general election, which resolution
amends the Constitution so as to provide that funds derived from motor fuel
taxes may be appropriated for and grant made for all activities incident to and
providing and maintaining an adequate system of public roads and bridges in this
state and for any or all transportation purposes and which authorizes the
General Assembly to allocate and specify and direct the use of such funds by
general law. If such resolution is not so ratified, this Act shall not become
effective and shall stand repealed in its entirety on January 1, 2009.
SECTION
4.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.