Liebmann Wants Road Funds Boost
State Rep. Guy Liebmann, chairman of the House General Government & Transportation Committee, is filing legislation to ensure road funding is increased by at least $50 million each year, the Oklahoma City Republican announced today.
"Maintenance of roads and bridges is a core function of government and there's no reason to place an artificial limit on how much we can spend in that area," Liebmann said. "Oklahoma's roads have been neglected for decades and it's going to take a serious effort to rehabilitate them."
Legislation approved in 2006 provided for annual increases of up to $50 million per year for Oklahoma roads until $200 million in new funding was achieved. However, the law contained a "trigger" that limited the annual increase to just $17.5 million if total state tax collections grew less than 3 percent in a year. This year, early revenue estimates indicated growth was below the 3-percent target and only $17.5 million in new money was approved for road-and-bridge maintenance. But revised estimates later showed state tax collections grew more than 3 percent.
"We had the opportunity to provide a significant boost to the road budget this session but the 'trigger' law thwarted those efforts,"Liebmann said. "I want to ensure that doesn't happen again."
Liebmann's bill would eliminate the 3-percent trigger and require that at least $50 million in new funding be provided for roads each year until the full $200 million goal is achieved.
Prior to 2005, road funding in Oklahoma was just $200 million per year, essentially unchanged from 20 years prior. When inflation was taken into account, road-maintenance funding had actually declined by 45 percent over those two decades.
Making a bad situation worse, previous Legislatures had approved new road construction funded through bond debt, and repayment of that debt was coming straight out of maintenance funds for roads, essentially reducing road funding by another one-third.
The new Republican majority made road funding a priority in 2005 and has steadily increased the road budget every year since they gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
"In light of the tragedy in Minnesota and the sad state of many Oklahoma bridges, I believe my legislation will be embraced by most lawmakers and signed into law," Liebmann said. "We can't afford to ignore this issue."
"Maintenance of roads and bridges is a core function of government and there's no reason to place an artificial limit on how much we can spend in that area," Liebmann said. "Oklahoma's roads have been neglected for decades and it's going to take a serious effort to rehabilitate them."
Legislation approved in 2006 provided for annual increases of up to $50 million per year for Oklahoma roads until $200 million in new funding was achieved. However, the law contained a "trigger" that limited the annual increase to just $17.5 million if total state tax collections grew less than 3 percent in a year. This year, early revenue estimates indicated growth was below the 3-percent target and only $17.5 million in new money was approved for road-and-bridge maintenance. But revised estimates later showed state tax collections grew more than 3 percent.
"We had the opportunity to provide a significant boost to the road budget this session but the 'trigger' law thwarted those efforts,"Liebmann said. "I want to ensure that doesn't happen again."
Liebmann's bill would eliminate the 3-percent trigger and require that at least $50 million in new funding be provided for roads each year until the full $200 million goal is achieved.
Prior to 2005, road funding in Oklahoma was just $200 million per year, essentially unchanged from 20 years prior. When inflation was taken into account, road-maintenance funding had actually declined by 45 percent over those two decades.
Making a bad situation worse, previous Legislatures had approved new road construction funded through bond debt, and repayment of that debt was coming straight out of maintenance funds for roads, essentially reducing road funding by another one-third.
The new Republican majority made road funding a priority in 2005 and has steadily increased the road budget every year since they gained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
"In light of the tragedy in Minnesota and the sad state of many Oklahoma bridges, I believe my legislation will be embraced by most lawmakers and signed into law," Liebmann said. "We can't afford to ignore this issue."
Labels: Guy Liebmann, Roads and Bridges
posted by Mike McCarville @ 2:50 PM
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