FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May
11, 2021
MARTA APPLAUDS GOVERNOR KEMP
SIGNING FY22 STATE BUDGET WITH FIRST EVER LINE ITEM FOR MARTA
ATLANTA – Governor Kemp on Monday took the final action to approve $6
million for MARTA to support a station renovation that will ultimately improve
rail service on the East/West Line and support economic development along the
corridor, which stretches from Northwest Atlanta into DeKalb County.
“MARTA is thrilled to see the partnership with the State of Georgia
develop in this way with the leadership of Governor Kemp,” said MARTA General
Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker. “Speaker Ralston and the Senate’s vision around
transit and economic development in metro Atlanta have earned the support of
the governor and we believe the FY22 budget and line item for MARTA are a
strong start to the new chapter in the story of MARTA and the State of
Georgia.”
The funding for MARTA’s station transformation at Bankhead comes from a
new source of state revenue, the $.50 fee on for-hire-ground-transportation
trips that the General Assembly established last year, with the intent to
direct it to support transit capital projects. The governor included this new
directed funding in the “Trust Fund” legislation, HB 511, creating the Transit
Trust Fund as one of ten trust funds, along with the Hazardous Waste and Solid
Waste Trust Funds. Pre-COVID estimates of this new transit revenue were around
$40 million annually.
As Georgia continues to be an attractive state in which to do
business, for-hire-ground-transportation fees afford Georgia yet another
recruitment tool to align local and state financial resources to best
promote the state for economic development purposes.
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