SHANNON McCAFFREY,Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA – Georgia’s ailing transportation system could finally see some additional cash as Gov. Sonny Perdue on Thursday said he would propose $300 million in borrowing for road projects next year.
The governor also said he wants Georgians to vote in 2012 on whether they want to boost the sales tax by one-cent to fund transportation projects.
Under Perdue’s plan – which must be approved by the state Legislature – the whole state would vote on the sales tax hike. But the votes would tallied, and the money spent, in individual regions. Some regions could approve the tax increase and would then have money to spend on local projects. Others could reject the increase and would not see any additional funding.
Perdue unveiled the proposal at a state Capitol news conference Thursday. He called the proposal “the ultimate democratic referendum on investing in transportation” saying that voters would be able to inspect a list of road or transit projects the tax dollars would fund before they cast a ballot.