A bill in the Georgia General Assembly would shift up to $70 million in the state’s fuel tax revenue out of the general fund to pay for road paving and other transportation projects statewide.

The proposal is a bargaining chip in the debate over whether to exempt interstate projects from a controversial funding formula, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The formula requires the state to distribute 85 percent of road-building funds evenly among Georgia’s 13 congressional districts.

A Senate measure – SB425 – has been sent to the House calling for the interstate exemption.

The counterproposal by the House would authorize the interstate exemption while recapturing a portion of the state’s fuel tax that now helps pay for general state operations.

HB1295 was approved by the full House 152-1 Feb. 19. It has been referred to the Senate.

Georgia taxes all drivers 7.5 cents per gallon of fuel to pay for everything from road widening to bridge replacement. Drivers also pay a 4 percent retail tax for every dollar’s worth of fuel purchased. Combined the two taxes total roughly 12 cents a gallon.

Of the retail tax collected, 3 percent is dedicated to road and bridge improvements. The remaining 1 percent is forwarded to the state general fund.

Under HB 1295, that single percent – $60 million to $70 million a year – also would be dedicated to transportation, the newspaper reported. Seventy-five percent of the collections would be used for the state's local assistance road program, which doles out money to counties and cities to repave local roads.

The remaining 25 percent would go to the Transportation Department's state aid program, which helps local governments fund projects. The legislation would boost the two programs, which have a combined budget this year of about $44 million.

The bill doesn’t increase the fuel tax in any way.