§ 32-9-16 — Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee

(a) There is created the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Overview Committee to be composed of the following 14 members: the chairperson of the State Planning and Community Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives; the chairperson of the State and Local Governmental Operations Committee of the Senate; the chairperson of the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives; a member of the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee of the Senate to be selected by the President of the Senate; two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, at least one of whom shall be from the area served by the authority; two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the President thereof, at least one of whom shall be from the area served by the authority; and three members of the House of Representatives and three members of the Senate appointed by the Governor, at least two of whom shall be from the area served by the authority. The appointed members of the committee shall serve two-year terms concurrent with their terms as members of the General Assembly. The chairperson of the committee shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House from the membership of the committee, and the vice chairperson of the committee shall be appointed by the President of the Senate from the membership of the committee. The chairperson and vice chairperson shall serve terms of two years concurrent with their terms as members of the General Assembly. Vacancies in an appointed member's position or in the offices of chairperson or vice chairperson of the committee shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment. The committee shall periodically inquire into and review the operations, contracts, safety, financing, organization, and structure of the authority, as well as periodically review and evaluate the success with which said authority is accomplishing its legislatively created purposes. (b) The state auditor, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and the Attorney General shall make available to the committee the services of their staffs' facilities and powers in order to assist the committee in its discharge of its duties herein set forth. The committee may employ staff and secure the services of independent accountants, engineers, and consultants. Upon authorization by joint resolution of the General Assembly, the committee shall have the power while the General Assembly is in session or during the interim between sessions to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents in aid of its duties. In addition, when the General Assembly is not in session, the committee shall have the power to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents in aid of its duties, upon application of the chairperson of the committee with the concurrence of the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. (c) The authority shall cooperate with the committee, its authorized personnel, the Attorney General, the state auditor, and the Georgia Department of Transportation in order that the charges of the committee, set forth in this Code section, may be timely and efficiently discharged. The authority shall submit to the committee such reports and data as the committee shall reasonably require of the authority in order that the committee may adequately inform itself of the activities of the authority required by this Code section. The Attorney General is authorized to bring appropriate legal actions to enforce any laws specifically or generally relating to the authority or as to any subpoenas issued by the committee. The committee shall, on or before the first day of January of each year, and at such other times as it deems to be in the public interest, submit to the General Assembly a report of its findings and recommendations based upon the review of the operations of the authority, as set forth in this Code section. (d) In the discharge of its duties, the committee shall evaluate the performance of the authority in providing public transportation consistent with the following criteria: (1) Public safety; (2) Prudent, legal, and accountable expenditure of public funds; (3) Responsiveness to community needs and community desires; (4) Economic vitality of the transportation system and economic benefits to the community; (5) Efficient operation; and (6) Impact on the environment. To assist in evaluating the performance of the authority, the committee may appoint a citizens' advisory committee or committees. Such citizens' advisory committee or committees shall act in an advisory capacity only. (e) (1) The committee is authorized to expend state funds available to the committee for the discharge of its duties. Said funds may be used for the purposes of compensating staff personnel; paying the expenses of advertising notices of intention to amend the MARTA Act; paying for services of independent accountants, engineers, and consultants; paying necessary expenses of the citizens' advisory committee or committees; and paying all other necessary expenses incurred by the committee in performing its duties. (2) The members of the committee shall receive the same compensation, per diem, expenses, and allowances for their service on the committee as is authorized by law for members of interim legislative study committees. (3) The funds necessary for the purposes of this Code section shall come from the funds appropriated to and available to the legislative branch of government. (f) Nothing contained within this Code section shall relieve the authority of the responsibilities imposed upon it under the MARTA Act for planning, designing, purchasing, acquiring, constructing, improving, equipping, financing, maintaining, administering, and operating a system of rapid transit for the metropolitan area of Atlanta.

Legislative History

Added by 2018 Ga. Laws 409,§ 3-1, eff. 5/3/2018.