Anti-TSPLOST Regions Face Penalty

Anti-TSPLOST Regions Face Penalty

By Parker Wallace – GPB News

ATLANTA  — The “T-SPLOST” penny transportation tax vote may have failed throughout most of the state, but some local transportation costs could skyrocket.  There are hidden penalties written into the law.

The Georgia legislature passed the Transportation Act in 2010, which authorized Tuesday’s vote on T-SPLOST.

But there are penalties written into the law for regions that failed to approve the referendum.

That means starting now, the nine regions that rejected it will be subjected to a 30 percent match on state transportation funds.
The three regions that passed the tax will only pay 10-15 percent.

Steve Brown with the Transportation Leadership Coalition says lawmakers are penalizing voters for saying “NO” to T-SPLOST.
“The economy that we’re in now, that’s just horrendous, I mean, it’s a horrible thing to do to the people, especially when you’ve put it on a referendum and asked people to vote their conscience.”

Under the current law, the 30% penalty is in effect for 2 years. That’s when the transportation tax can be voted on again, but it’s unlikely.

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