---
title: HR 1951. House Study Committee on MARTA Governance, Financial Accountability, and Regional Transit Oversight; create
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hr1951
cite_as: HR 1951, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1951
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1951.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1951/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74518
date: 2026-04-02
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1951.md?full=1
bill_number: HR 1951
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-03-27
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
  - Long Tran
  - Karla Drenner
  - Deborah Silcox
  - Shea Roberts
  - Omari Crawford
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1951/2025
upstream_id: 2139160
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - MARTA
  - public transit
  - transit funding
  - sales tax
  - government oversight
---

# HR 1951. House Study Committee on MARTA Governance, Financial Accountability, and Regional Transit Oversight; create

## Text

House Resolution 1951
By: Representatives Tran of the 80th, Drenner of the 85th, Silcox of the 53rd, Roberts of the
52nd, and Crawford of the 89th
A RESOLUTION
Creating the House Study Committee on MARTA Governance, Financial Accountability,
and Regional Transit Oversight; and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is a joint public
instrumentality of DeKalb County, Fulton County, Clayton County, and the City of Atlanta
and is the exclusive provider of heavy rail in the metropolitan Atlanta region; and
WHEREAS, local governments and MARTA are committed to collaboratively planning,
building, and operating public transportation services that improve accessibility and mobility,
drive economic development, and enhance the quality of life for all who live, work, and play
in metropolitan Atlanta; and
WHEREAS, MARTA has requested an extension on the collection of the its penny sales and
use tax from 2057 to 2067 and continues to face declining ridership at between 50 to 60
percent of pre-pandemic levels; and
WHEREAS, it is prudent to undertake a thorough review of MARTA operations to ensure
the financial management, oversight, and operational structure of MARTA aligns with all
parties and their shared interest in the successful operation and funding of transit service in
metropolitan Atlanta; and
WHEREAS, it is imperative that MARTA moves forward with complete transparency,
including clarity of terms, accounting, and mission, and further study is needed to define the
roles, responsibilities, and financial commitments of MARTA and its participating
jurisdictions relative to use of funds, annual reporting, and external audits; and
WHEREAS, study is needed to ensure best practices in the use of funds, annual reporting,
and external audits for transit providers in the 13 county region within the jurisdiction of the
Atlanta-region Transit Link "ATL" Authority; and
WHEREAS, examination is required of issues related to the governance, financial
management, and regional oversight of MARTA and all transit operations in the metropolitan
Atlanta region, including:
(1) Measures to strengthen transparency and accountability in transit governance;
(2) Requirements for quarterly financial reporting and public disclosure of financial
statements;
(3) A comprehensive review and through analysis of the MARTA Act and its governance
framework;
(4) Strategies for addressing and restructuring existing MARTA debt obligations;
(5) The allocation and oversight of regional transit sales tax revenues;
(6) The feasibility of enhanced financial oversight by an agency to be recommended,
including potential authority for regional review of MARTA financial planning and
budgeting;
(7) Independent annual external audits, including audits of executive salaries, consulting
contracts, and procurement practices;
(8) Review of current financial structures of major capital projects and system expansion,
with recommendations to ensure the on-time delivery of capital and transit oriented
development projects;
(9) Strategies for securing stable federal funding for transit infrastructure and operations;
(10) Opportunities to leverage transit oriented development and real estate assets to
support operating revenues and increase ridership;
(11) Policies and practices that ensure MARTA operates as a financially sustainable and
economically solvent transit system with long-term viability; and
(12) Governance reforms necessary to strengthen regional coordination of transit system
delivery with a strategic framework to achieve tangible outcomes.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
(1) Creation of House study committee. There is created the House Study Committee
on MARTA Governance, Financial Accountability, and Regional Transit Oversight.
(2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of the following
members:
(A) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint:
(i) Five members of the House of Representatives as members of the committee. The
Speaker shall also designate one of such members as chairperson; and
(ii) Four citizens comprising one resident from DeKalb County, Fulton County,
Clayton County, and the City of Atlanta;
(B) The Executive Director of the Atlanta-region Transit Link "ATL" Authority, or his
or her designee;
(C) The General Manager/CEO of MARTA, or his or her designee; and
(D) The Executive Director of the Atlanta Regional Commission, or his or her
designee.
(3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,
issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or
legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate.
(4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee. The committee
may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or
convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and
accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.
(5) Allowances, expenses, and funding.
(A) The legislative members of the committee shall receive the allowances provided
for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
(B) Members of the committee who are state officials, other than legislative members,
or who are state employees shall receive no compensation for their services on the
committee, but they may be reimbursed for expenses incurred by them in the
performance of their duties as members of the committee in the same manner as they
are reimbursed for expenses in their capacities as state officials or employees.
(C) Members of the committee who are not legislators, state officials, or state
employees shall receive a daily expense allowance in an amount the same as that
specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, as well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state
employees.
(D) The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any member
of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized. Funds
necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds
appropriated to the House of Representatives; except that funds for the reimbursement
of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative members, and for the
reimbursement of the expenses of state employees shall come from funds appropriated
to or otherwise available to their respective agencies.
(6) Report.
(A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that
include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the
same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for
proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)
of this paragraph.
(C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of
abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.
A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with
the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
(D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Clerk of the
House of Representatives a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu
thereof.
(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia House resolution would create a study committee to examine MARTA's finances, governance, and oversight, including its request to extend its sales tax through 2067, and report findings by December 1, 2026.

### Plain-language summary

MARTA, the transit agency jointly run by DeKalb, Fulton, and Clayton counties and the City of Atlanta, has asked to extend its penny sales tax collection from 2057 to 2067 while facing ridership still at 50 to 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels. This resolution does not change MARTA's funding or governance itself; it creates a House Study Committee on MARTA Governance, Financial Accountability, and Regional Transit Oversight to look into those issues.
The committee would include five House members, four local citizens (one each from DeKalb, Fulton, Clayton, and Atlanta), and representatives from the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, MARTA, and the Atlanta Regional Commission. It would study topics such as MARTA's debt, financial transparency, audits, capital project delivery, and regional transit coordination, and could recommend legislation. The committee must file any report before it is abolished on December 1, 2026.

### What it does

- Creates the House Study Committee on MARTA Governance, Financial Accountability, and Regional Transit Oversight.
- Appoints five House members, four local citizens, and representatives from the ATL Authority, MARTA, and the Atlanta Regional Commission to the committee.
- Directs the committee to study MARTA's debt, financial reporting, audits, sales tax revenue use, and governance structure under the MARTA Act.
- Authorizes the committee to recommend legislation or other action based on its findings.
- Sets per diem and expense allowances for committee members under existing state law (O.C.G.A. §§ 28-1-8 and 45-7-21).
- Abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026, after which it must have already filed any approved report.

### Who it affects

MARTA and its board and management, the four founding local governments (DeKalb County, Fulton County, Clayton County, and the City of Atlanta), the Atlanta-region Transit Link Authority, the Atlanta Regional Commission, and residents of metropolitan Atlanta who rely on or fund transit service.

### Why it matters

The study committee itself changes no law or funding, but its work could shape future legislation on MARTA's sales tax extension, debt, audits, and oversight, affecting how transit is funded and governed across the Atlanta region for years to come.

### Key provisions

- Paragraph 2 sets the committee's membership: five House members and four local citizens appointed by the Speaker, plus representatives from the ATL Authority, MARTA, and the Atlanta Regional Commission.
- Paragraph 3 charges the committee with studying MARTA's governance, financial management, and regional oversight issues and recommending legislation if needed.
- Paragraph 5 sets member allowances, capping paid days at five unless additional days are authorized, funded through House and agency appropriations.
- Paragraph 6 requires any committee report with legislative recommendations to be approved by majority vote and filed with the Clerk of the House before abolishment.
- Paragraph 7 abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2026-03-27)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-04-02)
- Sponsors: Long Tran, Karla Drenner, Deborah Silcox, Shea Roberts, Omari Crawford
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74518

> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1951.md?full=1