Georgians for Better Transportation is pitching a proposal to raise the state sales tax by a penny to pay for transportation improvements:

One of the proposals headed for the legislature would hike the state sales tax by one cent to net about $700 billion a year, the plan trumpeted by lobbying group Georgians for Better Transportation.

The other proposal would allow any two or more adjoining metro Atlanta counties to hold referendums on levying a special local option sales tax of one cent for transportation needs. That also would raise about $700 million a year, according to reports.

The numbers driving this big tax-hike campaign by GBT, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and metro county chambers show a huge gap - call it a chasm - between the funds purportedly needed and the expected revenues.

One step we can take in saving the taxpayers some money is to eliminate funding for these damned commuter rail projects. The answer shouldn't be to increase taxes. If you want funding you need to start looking for it by eliminating wasteful spending and government programs. I realize that is a foreign concept for many of these people and some of you that may be reading this.

The Political Insider names a few people that attended the meeting:

We’re told that top legislative leaders — House Speaker Glenn Richardson, Lt. Gov.-elect Casey Cagle, various committee chairmen, state DOT officials, plus U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Sharpsburg) — were there listening to a pitch from Georgians For Better Transportation, the road-building interest group headed by Mike Kenn.