Governor Sonny Perdue says he is supporting a plan that would give Atlanta’s public transit system flexibility in how the agency spends its funds.

According to state law, MARTA has to spend half the money it collects from a state sales tax on operation costs and the other half on construction costs.

Governor Sonny Perdue says that to stave off a drastic reduction in services, the agency should be freed up to spend more of that money on operations.

"We've given school systems great flexibility during our economic downturn; it only makes sense we do the same thing for MARTA," says Perdue. "They have promised to be good stewards of that flexibility."

The proposal will be formally introduced in the legislature next week, according to the Governor's spokesperson. MARTA sought the changes last year, but the proposal was killed by disagreements between the House and Senate leaders on transportation.

Tags: lawmakers, Atlanta, transportation, governor, Sonny Perdue, Senate, House, MARTA, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority