By a resounding margin, Effingham County voters turned down a one-cent sales tax proposed to go toward transportation projects in the county and the Coastal Empire. The T-SPLOST, pushed by local Chambers of Commerce and many local and area politicians, was defeated in the 10-county area served by the Coastal Regional Commission. The sales tax was slated to be enacted on a region-by-region basis, with the regions formed on the basis of the regional commissions to which counties belong.