When: Friday, March 13th, 2014 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm; Registration opens at 11:15 am.

Where: Cumberland Maggiano's (map below)

Topic: Rise Up Team Dale! Managing the New Falcons Stadium Construction and GDOT Press Relations - All Under One Retractable Roof!

Description: Matthew Dale, the Senior Director for Darden & Company (Falcons New Stadium Project Manager), and Natalie Dale, GDOT's Media & Government Relations Liaison, have some compelling work conversations over dinner! Matt will present updates on the construction of the new, ultra-modern Falcons stadium and all of the related transportation challenges, while Natalie will discuss her role as GDOT's lead liaison to media across the state!

Student Chapter Traffic Bowl Competition: Are you smarter than a college student? Join us as students from Georgia Tech compete with students from SPSU in the Jeopardy style competition. The winners will represent the Georgia Section at the SDITE Conference! Traffic Bowl may run until 1:30 pm.

Early Cost/Registration: $30 Private Sector Member, $20 Public Sector Members, $15 Life Members, $10 Job Seekers, $35 for non-Members. Students are free if registered online. On-line registration ends on Monday, March 9th at midnight, or once the room limit is reached.

Late Cost/Registration: Walk-ups are welcome at the door as space allows; walk-ups and late registrants will be charged $5 extra.

Menu (served family style): Freshly baked bread, Bruschetta, Mozzarella Marinara, Caesar Salad, Chicken Parmesan, Four-cheese Ravioli, Mom's Meat Lasagna, Chocolate Zuccotto Cake, NY style cheesecake, freshly brewed regularly and decaffeinated coffee, hot tea, iced tea and sodas. Gluten-free is available.

As you've probably heard, transportation is a top priority this year for the Georgia Legislature. This post provides information on the primary current proposed legislation, but also gives information on other current legislative affairs as well.

House Bill 170 - The Transportation Funding Act of 2015
The most publicly discussed bill so far has been House Bill 170, which is being called, “The Transportation Funding Act of 2015.” The bill was introduced by Representative Jay Roberts (R-Ocilla) and is intended to create at least $1 billion a year in new, sustainable transportation funding to address Georgia's critical transportation infrastructure needs. 

Highlights of the bill include:
-Provides more than $1 billion in new transportation funding by converting all of Georgia's existing motor taxes (local and sate) into a single statewide excise tax of 29.2 cents per gallon of gas and 33 cents per gallon for diesel.
-The excise tax amount equals the four year average of all these existing taxes, meaning that there is no state tax increase.
- Preserves local control and the will of the voters by grandfathering local SPLOST, E-SPLOST and other voter renewable sales tax measures. This allows the collection of local sales tax on motor fuel to continue until the next time these measures come before voters for renewal.
- Ensures that all taxes on motor fuel in Georgia are being used only for transportation purposes.

You can access a full copy of House Bill 170 here.


Joint Study Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Funding
The current proposal (HB 170) is the result of a significant effort undertaken in 2014 by a team of legislators to better understand transportation funding in Georgia. Specifically, a joint study committee was formed in 2014 led by State Representative Jay Roberts (R-Cocilla) and State Senator Steve Gooch (R - District 51) to better understand the need for funding and to identify opportunities for filling the void. Their final report, published in December of 2014, identified twelve different funding options, some of which have been included in House Bill 170.

The final report is short and easy to read. You can access the report from the Joint Study Committee on Critical Transportation Infrastructure Funding here.


Additional Funding Proposals
Although this has not been drafted into a bill at this time, several key legislators including House Representative Jay Roberts have publicly stated that they will support adding a "significant" bond package to the upcoming state budget bill that would include money for critical road and bridge improvements plus $100 million for transit.


House Bill 21 - Provisions Relating to New Transit Authorities
This proposed bill, introduced by State House Representative John Carson (R - Marietta), would remove the current population provision related to creating new transit authorities within metropolitan areas. The Bill would also require that new transit authorities enter into an intergovernmental agreement with any  overlapping existing transit authorities before beginning service.

You can access a full copy of House Bill 21 here.


House Bill 106 - State Route Designation, Funding Appropriations, and Crash Reporting
This additional transportation bill, again introduced by  State Representative Jay Roberts (R-Ocilla), would enact several provisions related to transportation:
- Changes to requirements for designating State routes
- Changes to appropriation of funds for right-of-way acquisition
- Changes to the rules regarding the State disposal (selling) of public right-of-way
- Changes to the implementation procedures for the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
- Changes to reporting procedures for crashes reported by law enforcement

You can access a full copy of House Bill 106 here.


House Bill 213 - Removal of the 50/50 MARTA Split
This bill, introduced by State Representative Mike Jacobs (R - Brookhaven), will remove the long-standing State restriction on MARTA requiring that a maximum of only 50% of its funding can be used for operations and system maintenance

You can access a full copy of House Bill 213 here.


House Bill 214 - Restoration of MARTA Board Voting Privileges for the GDOT Commissioner
Introduced by State Representative Mike Jacobs (R - Brookhaven), this bill proposes to restore voting rights on the MARTA board to the current Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation until 2017.

You can access a full copy of House Bill 214 here.


House Bill 289 - Extension of the motor fuels tax exemption for transit vehicles to June of 2018
This bill, proposed by State Representative Don Parsons (R - Marietta), proposes to extend the current motor fuel tax exemption for public mass transit vehicles out to June of 2018.

You can access a full copy of House Bill 289 here.


Senate Bill 4 - Change of the definition of rehabilitation and conservation to include transportation projects
This bill, proposed by State Senator Steve Gooch (R - District 51), relates to urban redevelopment and proposes to change the definition of "rehabilitation" and "conservation" to include increases in density and also to include surface transportation projects.

You can access a full copy of Senate Bill 4 here.


How can you be engaged?
While the Georgia Section of ITE cannot advocate for political causes, we can inform our membership of proposed legislation and can provide you with information on how to contact your representatives.
- Please familiarize yourself with these bills (links provided above)
- Click here to find your Representative.
- Please be sure to thank your representatives and senators for their leadership and service.


Special thanks for this post to Georgia ITE Legislative Committee Chair - James Fowler!

Come join us and the GA ITE Engineering Outreach Committee by volunteering at the ASCE Toothpick Bridge Student Event on Saturday, February 21 from 12-3 pm at the Fernbank Science Center.

This event is free and open to students, parents, teachers and volunteers at the Fernbank Science Center. Students will design and build toothpick bridges to be tested for weight-bearing ability.

This is a great opportunity to introduce young students to the field of civil engineering. We need volunteers to help with the following:
- registration
- bridge inspection
- bridge failure testing
- award printing and distribution
- bridge consulting / Q&A

More info about the event can be found here. It is a great opportunity to bring your family for free admission to the Fernbank Sicence Center and a fun event.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP. More details will be coming soon!

UPDATE!

Registration is full and walk-ins are limited for our meeting today at Mary Mac's. If you have not registered and you plan to attend, please arrive early. Otherwise, you may not get a seat since we only have approximately 10 walk-in spots available.

Hope to see you soon!