Republican state Rep. Tricia Cotham on Thursday filed a bill in the House that would allow Mecklenburg County residents to vote on whether to increase the sales tax by 1 cent to fund billions of dollars and roads and transit projects.
Her bill also makes it possible to build the Silver Line light rail from uptown to Matthews, which is one of the towns she represents.
Her bill would require that 40% of all new revenue be spent on roads, but it would allow a new Charlotte transit authority to spend the remaining 60% on any transit project, including light rail.
That's different from a Senate bill filed in late February by Republican state Senator Vickie Sawyer, who represents Iredell and part of north Mecklenburg. Sawyer’s bill requires that 40% of the sales tax money be spent on roads, and it caps the amount of money that can be spent on rail transit at 40%. The remaining 20% could be spent on buses.
Under Sawyer's bill, Charlotte wouldn't have enough money to build the Red Line commuter train to Lake Norman and the Silver Line to Matthews.
The legislative session is expected to end this summer.
