United States Department of Transportation
i
Phase III: Transportation Investment Act — Benchmark Assessment and Benefit–Cost Analysis, 2013–2018
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2020-08-01
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[PDF-5.55 MB]
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Edition:Final; September 2018 – August 2020
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Abstract:The Transportation Investment Act (TIA) is a voter initiative in Georgia that adds 1 percent to local sales taxes over 10 years. Of additional revenue, 75 percent is devoted to approved transportation investment projects, and 25 percent is returned to local jurisdictions to spend on any transportation projects they choose. The taxing authority lasts 10 years. Three regions approved TIA in 2012: Central Savannah River Area (CSRA), Heart of Georgia Altamaha (HOGA), and River Valley. Southern Georgia (Southern) approved TIA in 2018. This research evaluates the impact of TIA. The main results are based on a survey of stakeholders and households in four TIA regions, and one comparison non-TIA region. Personal interviews of stakeholders supplemented the study. The results are compared to those of the 2018 survey (278 and 273 respondents were in 2020 and 2018, respectively). Respondents represented 72 of the 75 counties in the five regions surveyed. In 2020, about one-half of the respondents were women, and racial diversity was more representative of Georgia than in 2018. More importantly, the 2020 survey responses included a much more significant percentage of ordinary households as compared to previous surveys, which mainly reflected engaged stakeholders. The broader response allowed a better gauge of community sentiment. TIA regions have a very favorable view of the program. Survey results indicate they would vote positively to approve it again. GDOT has implemented TIA very effectively and communicated well with local areas. Overall, the program has met voter expectations. The most important new finding is that TIA’s favorability rating declined in the 2020 survey in comparison to 2018. The lower favorability was an outcome of the research team intentionally including more household respondents and fewer stakeholders. Stakeholders are elected officials; county, city, and local jurisdiction managers; governmental employees; and persons with some oversight management of TIA. Householders are all other individuals. Stakeholders have more knowledge and a more definite preference for TIA. Householders have much less understanding of TIA and are therefore, less favorable than stakeholders are. The three most important expectations of TIA are: improving local roads and bridges, providing discretionary funds to local areas, and creating more jobs and faster economic growth. When asked to assess the way GDOT has implemented TIA, the percentages stating excellent or good by region were as follows in 2018 and 2020, respectively: CSRA 84.5 and 72.0 percent; HOGA 91.9 and 82.2 percent; River Valley, 85.3 and 63.8 percent; and Southern 51.8 percent in 2020. Southern was not a TIA Region in the first quarter 2018. In 2018, the percentages of respondents who felt their region’s participation in TIA a was a good thing were CSRA (93.3 percent), HOGA (91.7 percent), River Valley (92.7 percent). In 2020, the percentages were CSRA (82.0 percent); HOGA (91.8 percent); River Valley (79.3 percent); and Southern (73.5 percent). Statistical analysis found that differences in age, gender, race, education, and length of residency in Georgia did not significantly influence the likelihood of voting yes on TIA. What mattered most was whether the person was a government employee or stakeholder (because they were more likely to vote yes), and the importance an individual put on having more funding for local transportation projects. Residents who perceived this as very important were more likely to vote yes. Voters in regions with an existing transportation special purpose local option sales tax (TSPLOST) were less likely to approve TIA. The need to provide more information about TIA and its benefits to local households is the most important recommendation of the study. The overwhelming reason why residents voted yes on TIA is that it provides more funding for local roads and bridges (68 percent), which would not be available otherwise. GDOT must communicate more with stakeholders and households regarding how TIA has delivered this outcome.
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