HB170, Transportation Funding Act Now in Conference Committee

House Bill 170, the Transportation Funding Act of 2015 is back in conference committee after being passed last week in the Senate. 

The bill barely cleared the Senate last Friday.  In a final vote, the Senate passed HB170 by a narrow 29 yes to 25 no vote.

However, the bill passed in the Senate with numerous changes and substitutes, which the House has rejected, according to State Representative Alan Powell.

“The House bill was passed in the Senate with changes,” Powell said. “It was sent over to the House, but the House disagreed with the Senate changes and sent it back over. The Senate insisted on their position and sent it back to the House.  Now, the bill is in a conference bill between the two houses.”

Among the Senate changes, the excise tax on gasoline and diesel was lowered to 25-cents a gallon from the House’s 29.2 cents-per-gallon proposal.

The Senate substitute bill also leaves the current rate and sales tax base for all local sales taxes alone, but caps the average retail price for fuel that the local sales taxes can be collected on at the four-year average rate of $3.39 per gallon of gasoline, not including diesel.

By comparison, local sales taxes are currently being collected on an average price of $2.59 per gallon for gasoline and $3.16 per gallon for diesel.

The $3.39 cap would apply equally to gasoline and diesel fuel.

Other changes in the Senate version include a $5 rental car fee charged at a flat rate for all rentals regardless of whether they are for business or pleasure.

The Senate version also repeals the tax free weekend that typically occurs the first weekend in August just before school starts.

A Senate and House subcommittee are now meeting together to work out the details of the bill, which Powell believes will eventually pass this session.

Powell, along with his counterparts in the Senate, Senator Bill Jackson and Senator John Wilkinson have voted against the bill.

Both Franklin and Hart counties have sent letters to the House and Senate protesting HB170.

Franklin County Commission Chair Thomas Bridges says his county stands to lose about a half-million a year in gas tax revenue if the bill is passed.

Hart County officials worry about the prospect for attracting new industry and economic development overall if companies have to pay more in fuel to do business in Georgia.

But one change made in the Senate version would ensure trucks that register under the International Fuel Trade Agreement (IFTA) will be given credit for the local sales taxes they pay on motor fuel.

That would ensure that more trucks fill up in Georgia rather than heading across the border to South Carolina before filling up the tank.

Powell said Thursday if members of both committees can come to an agreement, the bill will likely pass during this legislative session.