Governor Deal issued an executive order for the creation of a Transit Governance Task Force on September 7th. The task force will be responsible for developing a legislative proposal for the 2012 session based on the executive findings of the Transit Governance Study Commission. Governor Deal stated, “The metro Atlanta region has a multitude of transit agencies that work independently of each other. The study committee found that commuters, transit stakeholders and the general public would benefit from oversight, streamlining and coordination of the individual transit systems in the metro Atlanta region.” The legislative proposal should “establish clearly-articulated regional transit goals, vision and mission” and “designate a state agency or authority with responsibilities of oversight and coordination of transit services in the metro Atlanta region.” House Majority Caucus Chairwoman Donna Sheldon and Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Mullis will co-chair the task force. A final legislative draft is due to Governor Deal no later than January 23, 2012. You can read the full executive order here.
