
The Georgia House has approved a bill allowing counties to have a six-year transportation SPLOST program. Right now, T-SPLOST programs are limited to five years in length. The state senate will next consider it.
The county and cities would need to adopt an intergovernmental agreement to ask voters for a six-year program. This is similar to existing state law on regular SPLOST.
Six-Year T-SPLOST
House Bill 946 would revise the state law on transportation SPLOST. If the bill passes, then counties could consider a six-year T-SPLOST. They would need an intergovernmental agreement with cities comprising at least 50% of the municipal population. This mirrors regular SPLOST law. As an added benefit, a T-SPLOST program with an IGA may collect the tax for the full time-period. SPLOST programs without an IGA are subject to end early if they collect the original estimated amount.
Transportation SPLOST proceeds must be dedicated solely to transportation projects. Georgia first approved legislation enabling single-county T-SPLOST in 2015. Since then, 43 counties have passed a single-county T-SPLOST. In addition, 64 counties are part of a regional T-SPLOST. Henry County passed a transportation SPLOST in November 2021.
The Association of County Commissions of Georgia (ACCG) supports HB 946. Such revisions to single-county T-SPLOST are part of their 2024 legislative priorities.
Previous Revisions to Single-County T-SPLOST
This is not the first time lawmakers have considered revisions to transportation SPLOST. Two years ago, the state assembly passed House Bill 934 (2021–22 session). This bill allows counties, when there’s an IGA with the cities, to collect T-SPLOST for the full time-period. T-SPLOSTs approved prior to 2022, such as in Henry County, may only collect up to the estimated revenues. The Henry County T-SPLOST was estimated to collect $245 million dollars.
Based on current projections, Henry County will need to ask voters to renew transportation SPLOST no later than spring 2026. This would allow T-SPLOST collections to continue uninterrupted when the current program reaches its estimated revenues.
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