ATLANTA – Investments in freight rail would land a permanent spot in annual state budgets under legislation the Georgia House of Representatives passed overwhelmingly on Monday.
House Bill 820, which was approved 162-1 and now heads to the state Senate, was among the recommendations of the Georgia Freight & Logistics Commission, a task force of legislators, business leaders and logistics industry executives formed last year to look for ways to move freight more efficiently through the state.
While the bill does not guarantee state funding of freight rail projects, giving freight rail a permanent line item in the budget would encourage more state investment in badly needed rail improvements, said House Transportation Committee Chairman Kevin Tanner, the measure’s chief sponsor.
“We have a shortfall in investment in rail infrastructure in our state,” Tanner, R-Dawsonville, told his House colleagues before Monday’s vote. “There’s just not enough dollars in the budget.”
Tanner said freight rail investment is particularly needed at the Port of Savannah, where the amount of cargo handled each year is expected to double by 2040.
House Majority Leader Jon Burns, R-Newington, said only 27% of freight moved through Georgia travels by rail.
“Anything we can do to increase that number will take traffic off our roadways,” he said.
The Georgia Freight & Logistics Commission was due to complete its work by the end of last year. However, a separate bill sponsored by Tanner calls for keeping the task force alive through 2020.
A report the commission released recently identified a series of challenges facing freight transportation in Georgia. Tanner’s bill asks for additional time so the commission can come up with solutions to those challenges.