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Local Option Gas Tax Loan

At a glance

  • What: Ordinance amending Code sections on the 5-cent and 9th-cent local option gas taxes (2026-0780-E).
  • 2026-09-22 update: Council President Howland noted on the council floor that the bill (2026-780, added by addendum) lets local option gas tax revenue be used for operations, including paying down the Jacksonville Transportation Authority line of credit. It was added to the agenda and goes through one committee cycle.
  • 2026-10-05 update: the Rules Committee passed the bill as an emergency, as amended, 7-0 (a technical amendment filling in blanks, defining JTA operational funds as non-LOGT2 funds and keeping the first amendment in place past the sunset). The loan is interest free, up to 30 million dollars, repayable by September 30, 2037, with quarterly reports in the first year and annual reports by March after. The Finance Committee followed on 2026-10-06.
  • 2026-10-06 update: the Finance Committee adopted a technical amendment (JTA operational funds termed non-LGT2 funds; the first amendment stays in place until superseded) and passed the bill as an emergency 8-0. See Jacksonville Transportation Authority Financial Condition.
  • 2026-10-06 update (morning): the Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee declared the bill an emergency, adopted the technical amendment and passed it 8-0 (the third committee to do so). Peterson said it requires quarterly draw reports in fiscal 2026-27, notice of a draw plan before any draw, and annual reports each March after September 30, 2027, with no annual repayment required. Weinstein said a second amendment, being drafted with a council committee, the administration and JTA, will replace this one and carry the payback details. See Jacksonville Transportation Authority Financial Condition.
  • 2026-10-13 update (City Council): emergency Ordinance 2026-780 passed 15-0 as amended after a public hearing with three speakers. Dr. Salem said a weekend story about tolls was unfair (the committee heard only a historical presentation), called JTA's borrowing a "death spiral" and wants the council auditors to find out how the budget went wrong; Councilmember McGee (spelling per captions) would "hold my nose" and vote yes; Peluso urged ending the Nav'i autonomous shuttle pilot while keeping the Emerald Trail; Arias read the routes being cut (18, 25 and 32) and pressed for restoring more than 200 lost jobs. See Jacksonville Transportation Authority Financial Condition.
  • Official minutes (2026-10-13, City Council): 2026-0780 (introduced by Howland with a request for one-cycle emergency passage) amends the 2021 interlocal agreement with JTA so that JTA may use up to 30,000,000 dollars in the aggregate of its unexpended 5-cent and 9th-cent local option gas tax allocations to retire JTA indebtedness issued for transportation capital projects and for related operational and administrative expenses, subject to conditions. Public hearing, emergency, amended and approved 15-0.
  • Official minutes (2026-09-22, City Council): 2026-0780 was introduced and assigned (added by addendum).

Sources

Discussion time

About 18 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting Minutes
2026-10-13 - City Council 17
2026-09-22 - City Council 1

Log

2026-10-13 - City Council

Public hearing, then passed 15-0 as an emergency, as amended; Salem, McGee, Peluso and Arias said it is unavoidable but urged oversight, restoring routes and jobs, and ending the Nav'i pilot.

Minutes: public hearing emergency, amended and approved 15-0.

2026-10-08 - Finance

Passed the Finance Committee 8-0 as amended.

2026-10-08 - TEU

Passed the Transportation, Energy and Utilities Committee 8-0 as an emergency, as amended; a proposed twice-yearly audit report was withdrawn.

2026-10-08 - Rules

Passed the Rules Committee 7-0 as an emergency, as amended. See Jacksonville Transportation Authority Financial Condition.

2026-09-22 - City Council

Bill 2026-780 added by addendum; Howland said it was worked out with the administration and JTA and would go through one committee cycle. See Jacksonville Transportation Authority Financial Condition.

Minutes: introduced and assigned by addendum.