ATLANTA – State Representative Meagan Hanson (R-Brookhaven) co-sponsored House Bill 930, legislation recently introduced that would create a new regional governance and funding structure for transit in the 13-county metropolitan Atlanta region. The bill was announced during a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol on Tuesday, February 13, 2018. Subsequently, Rep. Hanson was selected by House Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Tanner (R-Dawsonville) to serve on a special transportation subcommittee to hear House Bill 930.
“With several MARTA stations in House District 80, transit has been and continues to be of huge importance to the mobility of our community,” said Rep. Hanson. “I am excited to take part in legislation that takes a comprehensive, regional approach to addressing Georgia’s transportation and transit challenges and protecting the investments our community has made in MARTA. I am thankful to Chairman Tanner for affording me the opportunity to serve on the subcommittee that will work to improve and seek input to make HB 930 an even stronger effort for regional transit. I am grateful for Speaker Ralston and Chairman Tanner for involving me in this important and groundbreaking conversation.”
The bill intends to improve the coordination, integration and efficiency of transit in the Metro Atlanta region and promote a seamless and high-quality transit system for the 13-county Metro Atlanta region, namely: Cherokee, Clayton, Coweta, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale counties.
The bill would create the Atlanta-region Transit Link (the ‘ATL’), a regional transit governance structure that would coordinate transit planning and funding and would oversee all Metro Atlanta transit activity, including planning, funding and operations.
This bill would also improve access to transit funding for the region from state and local sources, and the measure would preserve the current operational and funding autonomy of transit providers, such as MARTA.
HB 930 is a product of the House Commission on Transit Governance and Funding, which was established by House Resolution 848, which Rep. Hanson also a co-sponsored last legislative session, to study Georgia’s transit needs and analyze ways for the state to adequately plan and provide for those needs.
For more information on the House Commission on Transit Governance Funding, please click here.
Representative Meagan Hanson represents the citizens of District 80, which includes portions of DeKalb and Fulton counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2016 and currently serves on the Judiciary, Special Rules and Transportation committees.
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