NC: NC senators introduce bill for new transit authority in Mecklenburg. Here’s what it says.

A trio of Republican state senators introduced a bill Tuesday to set up a new public transit authority in the Charlotte area.

The bill — introduced by Sens. Vickie Sawyer, Bill Rabon and David Craven — is part of efforts by local leaders to overhaul the region’s public transit system by increasing Mecklenburg County’s sales tax to pay for rail, bus and road projects.

The same senators introduced legislation in February to authorize a referendum on a 1-cent sales tax increase and lay out how the new tax revenue could be spent. Sawyer, who represents part of northern Mecklenburg County, is a co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Rabon also chairs the Transportation Committee, and Craven is a chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

Senate Bill 584’s new public transit authority could replace the current governance system for the Charlotte Area Transit System as the group that runs buses and trains across the county.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said previously the authority would be introduced as a separate bill for procedural reasons.

Both bills mirror the plan laid out in draft legislation crafted by local leaders and approved by all Mecklenburg cities and towns, except Matthews, last year.

What’s in new transit bill

A new transit authority would take over the financing, operations and management of the Charlotte region’s public transit.

Currently, CATS is a department of the City of Charlotte but also governed by the Metropolitan Transit Commission, a board that includes local mayors and representatives of the Mecklenburg County Commissioners and North Carolina Board of Transportation

Under the new transit bill, Mecklenburg County could create a new 27-member board of trustees to lead a new public transportation authority.

The bill calls for Charlotte to appoint 12 members, including at least three people representing “business interests.” The county would appoint 12 trustees, including six representatives from the county’s towns.

The governor, state House speaker and state Senate president pro tem would also each appoint one member.

The new legislation includes an option for the new transit authority to later expand into neighboring counties.

The bill calls for the new authority to put together a plan for acquiring CATS’ assets from Charlotte and for reimbursing Charlotte for the the purchase of railroad tracks for the Red Line commuter rail project within a year of the bill’s enactment.

Do Charlotte’s transit bills have a chance in NC General Assembly?

Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall were in Charlotte the same day the first bill was introduced for an event at the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. Neither endorsed Charlotte’s plan, but both praised local leaders for their collaboration.

“It doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy,” Hall said at the time. “I imagine it’s going to be a bill that’s well litigated through the General Assembly among the various committees in the chambers, and maybe something that it takes most of the long session to get to a good place on but, but I know that there are a number of folks who are committed to doing something on it.”

The CLT Alliance, a vocal advocate for the transportation plan, lauded the second bill’s introduction Tuesday.

“We stand at the threshold of a once-in-a-generation chance to shape our future,” board chair David Longo said in a statement. “We appreciate the lawmakers who understand the importance of this effort and are working hard to secure a brighter tomorrow for our community.”

Garnering support from the Republican-dominated state legislature has long been a hurdle to Charlotte’s public transit plans. The legislation up for consideration caps spending on rail projects at 40% of new tax revenue in an effort to appease skeptics.

Sawyer has cautioned it won’t be easy to get the plan through the General Assembly.

An advocacy group posted portions of an email exchange with Sawyer in February in which she said the bill was “a long way from being palatable to have enough votes to even get to the floor.” She told the Observer at the time “nothing really new has changed” but the bill remains “very difficult” to pass in a Republican-dominated legislature generally averse to tax increases.

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