House passes Transportation overhaul

By Charles Edwards

Atlanta, GA – The Transportation arm of Georgia's government gets a makeover under a bill passed by House members today.

Governor Perdue's original idea creates a new agency and gives him and the legislature more power over transportation spending.

House Speaker Glenn Richardson endorsed the bill. He told his fellow Representatives they've taken too much heat over the years from constituents restless for transportation improvements.

RICHARDSON: “They want to know why you haven't done something about this road. Why you? Why we? Well the answer is because we don't control the purse strings. For the first time, in this state you can control it if you'll vote for this bill.”

However, Macon Democrat David Lucas said it's not an issue of who controls the money rather how much.

LUCAS: “If we would give the department of transportation adequate funding, we would not have this problem.”

The House passed the bill 91-to-84. But their version keeps a lot of the current governance in place unlike the Governor's plan passed by the Senate. Lawmakers from both chambers will try to reach a compromise before the legislature ends on Friday.