4 days ago
Cotham's Mecklenburg County transportation bill advances in N.C. General Assembly
Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham's bill for Mecklenburg County's long-sought 1% transportation sales tax was heard for the first time in the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The House Committee on Transportation's discussion was generally supportive and ended with a favorable review of House Bill 948 — also known as the P.A.V.E. Act — then swiftly referred it to the finance committee.
This marks another step forward for Mecklenburg County's ambitions to build more rail, improve the bus system and reduce congestion.
Catch up quick: Cotham's bill, filed in April, would give Mecklenburg County the authority to put a 1% sales tax on the November election ballot.
If voters approve it, the tax will generate $19.4 billion over 30 years for road and transportation projects — not including leveragable federal dollars.
Cotham's original version of the bill set a spending formula of 40% for road projects and 60% for transit projects, intending to create more flexibility to build rail than another version of the bill that capped rail spending at 40%.
Yes, but: Cotham made changes to the bill before the hearing on Wednesday. Now, 40% would be spent on road projects, 40% would go toward rail and 20% would fund the bus service.
This is the same breakdown as the other bill, filed earlier in February by Republican Senators Bill Rabon, David Craven and Vickie Sawyer.
Between the lines: Leaders in Matthews, which is part of Cotham's district, have been opposed to a transportation plan that does not allocate enough money to build the east-west Silver Line light rail to Matthews.
It's unclear whether removing the 40% cap on rail would still have been enough for that project to become a reality, considering the county also wants to build the Red Line commuter train to the northern towns.
No representative from Matthews was at the meeting to oppose the bill. Rep. Brenden Jones said Matthews has committed to working with legislators to find a happy medium.
What they're saying: Several developers and prominent business leaders traveled to Raleigh to speak in favor of the bill at the meeting. They included developers Peter Pappas and Tim Sittema, former chairman of the North Carolina Board of Transportation Ned Curran and Charlotte Regional Business Alliance chair David Longo.
"Transportation and traffic issues top the list of concerns we hear about every day," Sittema said. "Congestion is a huge problem. Recently, we had a project where we were asked to enhance or improve seven different intersections nearby, (and) that was not viable for us."
The bottom line: While local legislatures voice enthusiasm for the bill's momentum and dedication from the region, those from other parts of the state are acknowledging that it is ultimately up to the local voters to decide.
