SUMMARY:  LC 34 4522S  LC 34 4633S  LC 34 4702S AS PASSED

This bill is the Transportation Funding Act of 2015.  

Section 5-11 sets the e-SPLOST collection at 1% of the retail price of motor fuel but caps it at $3 per gallon.  If the price goes above $3, local taxes are levied only up to $3.  This cap is applied to all local sales taxes.

Section 5-13 raises the excise tax on motor fuel from 7.5 cents per gallon to 26 cents per gallon; the excise tax on diesel is raised from 7.5 cents to 29 cents per gallon.  There is an automatic annual adjustment of the tax as described in the bill.

Section 1-1 creates a Special Joint Committee on Georgia Revenue Structure consisting of 14 members

• President Pro Tem of Senate and Speaker Pro Tem of House (Sen. David Shafer, Rep. Jan Jones)
• Majority Leader of each chamber (Sen. Bill Cowsert, Rep. Larry O'Neal)
• Minority Leader of each chamber (Sen. Steve Henson, Rep. Stacey Abrams)
• Senate Finance Committee and House Ways & Means Chairs (Sen. Judson Hill, Rep. Jay Powell)
• Three Senators appointed by the Lt. Governor -- two from the majority party, one from the minority
• Three Representatives appointed by the Speaker -- two from the majority party, one from the minority

The Committee shall during the 2016 session introduce one or more bills on tax reform which will be assigned to this Committee.  If the Committee recommends the bill, it will be considered at a time decided by the Speaker with no amendments.  If it passes, it goes to the Senate to be called by the Lt. Governor for an up or down vote.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2015