Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mecklenburg transportation referendum framework (PAVE Act) advances in House
Summary
The House advanced House Bill 948 — the PAVE Act — after Representative Cotham outlined a regional framework that would let Mecklenburg County voters approve a 1¢ sales tax split among rail, roads and buses and create a 27‑member Mecklenburg County Transit Authority; the measure passed second reading with an adopted amendment and will remain on the calendar for final consideration.
Representative Becky Cotham presented House Bill 948, the PAVE Act, to the North Carolina House on June 18, saying the measure would let Mecklenburg County voters decide whether to approve a 1¢ local sales tax dedicated to transportation and would create a new independent Mecklenburg County Transit Authority. "If this referendum was to pass, the bill would create a framework 40% for rail, 40% for roads, and 20% for buses," Cotham said on the floor.
The nut of the bill is a voter referendum mechanism that authorizes Mecklenburg County officials to put a dedicated sales‑tax question before local voters to fund a package of transit and roadway investments. Cotham told colleagues the bill would also create a 27‑member transit authority with representation appointed by the governor, the House speaker, the mayor of Charlotte, municipal governments in the county and other local stakeholders.
Representative McNeely offered a friendly amendment to limit how state transportation improvement plan (STIP) allocations could be shifted in the new program; McNeely described the change as preventing future shifts that would disadvantage area projects. The House adopted McNeely’s amendment by recorded vote (108 yeas, 1 nay). After debate and the amendment’s adoption, the House passed the bill on second reading (recorded vote: 102 yeas, 6 nays) and placed it on the calendar for a later floor action.
Supporters framed the bill as a long‑sought regional tool to address congestion and to give municipalities new funding access. Cotham said the measure was the result of years of stakeholder work and expressed willingness to help other counties use the framework. Opponents and some members asked practical questions about board composition and local control; Cotham replied the authority would include seats for towns and small businesses and include other safeguards.
Next steps: the bill will return to the House calendar for third reading and final passage, or further floor amendments, before it could be enrolled and transmitted where applicable. The transcript records the second‑reading tally and the adopted amendment; no final enrollment or governor’s action is recorded in this session.
Provenance: topicintro: SEG 612 ("Representative Cotham, house bill 9 48, a bill to be entitled the PAVE Act"), topfinish: SEG 832 ("House bill 9 48 has passed a second reading and will remain on the calendar for Tuesday").
