The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that local sales and use taxes on motor fuels used to underwrite much of the hard-fought transportation package shepherded through the General Assembly by Gov. Nathan Deal and legislative leaders in 2015 are not constitutionally required to be used only for roads and bridges.

The Georgia Motor Trucking Association (GMTA) challenged the diversion of the funds to other projects as implemented under House Bill 170, arguing that the Georgia Constitution specifically requires that motor fuel taxes are to be used solely for “providing and maintaining an adequate system of public roads and bridges,” and that “tens of millions of dollars has been and will continue to be collected in illegal taxes” without court intervention.

In a putative class action naming the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) and Commissioner Lynn Riley as defendants, the GMTA argued that, per the Constitution, either the funds so collected had to be earmarked for roads and bridges or an equal amount had to be appropriated by the General Assembly for that purpose.