With both Fayette members voting in favor, the state Senate Monday passed legislation that would create a powerful new regional transportation authority.

Fayette County commissioners have expressed strong objections to Senate Bill 57, saying the transportation authority would have too much power over local governments.

Kathy Cox, the county's newly elected member of the state House of Representatives, said she will have a town meeting to get public input before deciding how she will vote on the House version of the bill. Residents can voice their opinions at Peachtree City Hall, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m.

The House will take several weeks to discuss the bill and add amendments before sending it back to the Senate, Cox predicted, but added she might have to change the date of the hearing if the bill moves faster than expected.

A joint House/Senate committee probably will hammer out a final version of the bill after the House is finished with it.

"This super agency will hold the purse strings on millions of dollars," said Fayette commission chairman Harold Bost during a recent discussion of the plan. "If you don't do exactly the way the state says, you won't get a lot of the state moneys that are coming through the pipeline," he added.

The proposed authority, appointed by the governor, would be the only agency authorized to spend money for transportation purposes within ten metro Atlanta counties, including Fayette, that don't meet federal air quality standards.

"And if we don't do what they want, they can withdraw other money from the county as well," said Bost. Under some proposals, the agency would even be able to dictate zoning policies to local counties, he said.

Commissioners agreed to send a letter to the county's legislative delegation urging opposition to the bill, but senators Rick Price and Greg Hecht joined the "yes" votes Monday. Price is Republican while Hecht is a Democrat.

Price told The Citizen Friday that the state has little choice. Federal agencies have given Georgia until the end of this year to develop a master plan aimed at bringing all of its counties into air quality compliance, or face losing all of its federal transportation funding, about a billion dollars a year.

"We're in a box," said Price. "We've got the federal mandate saying you will do this and you will do that or you're going to lose a billion dollars."

One major task assigned to the authority, Price predicted, would be putting rail service to Atlanta's suburbs, discussed for years, on a faster track.

Price said Gov. Roy Barnes is pushing for passage of the bill, but is very open to suggested amendments from Republican legislators.

"He is not trying to force upon us his mandate," Price said, adding "It'll be an improved bill" by the time the measure has worked its way through both houses.

As for Fayette commissioners' concerns, Price said he sympathizes. "That's a fair and reasonable concern," he said, adding that Republicans are working to get amendments into the bill that will keep home rule intact as much as possible.

Greg Hecht, who represents north Fayette residents, said he too is concerned about the bill's effects. "I have some reservations about giving so much power to a board," he said, "but if we don't do something [about air quality standards] that is smart and efficient and really substantive soon, we are going to lose a billion dollars a year real soon.

"We are going to be an area left behind," he said.

Cox said Monday she shares commissioners' concerns. "I'm viewing this with extreme caution," she said, adding, "I would love to hear from the public on this."

State Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, the fourth member of Fayette's legislative delegation, said he is dubious. "I don't see how this [bill] could be cleaned up enough for me to support it, but I'll be open and listen to those who support it," he added. Westmoreland last week urged the Tyrone Town Council to oppose the new agency.

The Atlanta Regional Commission and state Department of Transportation have been working for some time now to develop the master plan to reduce air pollution that might unlock federal highway funds, said Westmoreland. "I've been hoping that this [regional board] might be a carrot and stick approach, using this to get ARC and the state DOT to agree on a plan," he said.