TSPLOST Vote May Be Delayed

Gov. Nathan Deal announced Wednesday that a special legislative session will be called to discuss delaying the vote on the Transportation Investment Act, as well as take on redistricting and the gas tax rate freeze.

Deal announced that the special session will begin on Monday, Aug. 15 at 10 a.m.

The official proclamation released by the governor’s office, included an agenda item “for amending the official code of Georgia… relative to the special district transportation sales and use tax.”

At a news conference, he reportedly called on lawmakers to delay the vote on the one-penny Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST) proposed for the 10-county region, which was set for July 15. Deal suggested that a November vote would allow more time for citizen input.

The proclamation also includes an item on congressional redistricting, which happens once per decade after Census numbers are released. “My aim is to sign into law fair maps that comply with the mandates that the federal government sets forth,” Deal said in a statement released from his office.

“We will update our state and congressional legislative district maps to reflect the population changes documented in the 2010 Census, and we will honor the sacred principle of ‘one person, one vote.’”

The general assembly has been adjourned since April 14 for the summer break.