Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Transit Bill in Limbo

The Transit bill, HB148, is still lingering in the Senate Finance Committee. As pointed out in a previous post, the bill should have cleared by committee by now and come before the full Senate.

It is understood that the holdup is a dispute about the 1/4 percent sales tax authority that would apply to 94 counties (all except three counties in the Triangle, two in the Triad, and Mecklenburg, which already has a sales tax supported transit system).

It is unlikely that many, if any, of these counties would even put the sales tax on the ballot. This is particularly true if the state sales tax has to be raised to balance the budget. The environmental community may have to decide if the 1/4 cent tax for the other counties is worth jeopardizing the transit plans for the Triangle and the Triad.

Another factor is the House. If the Senate removes the authority for the 94 counties the House will have to concur with that change. Some believe that this authority was instrumental in getting the original House approval.

The session is nearing an end. Let's hope some agreement can be reached soon.

1 comment:

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