Senate Committee Amends House Roads Bill; Another Task Force Created

30449450The political wrangling between the House and Senate over the roads bill is in full swing. This bill has been substantially altered by the Senate Appropriations Committee at the direction of its chairman, Sen. Luke Kenley (R-Noblesville). Essentially, Kenley’s amendment removes all tax increases and decreases from the bill and establishes a task force to further assess the state’s needs for road funding – putting off difficult decisions to 2017.

Meanwhile, the original language of HB 1001 was inserted into SB 333, the Governor’s roads plan. Both bills are set up for conference committee negotiations. We expect the discussions and subsequent vote on this one will go down to the wire.

The Indiana Chamber has worked with legislative leaders as they attempt to address the state’s transportation infrastructure needs and nearly $1 billion annual maintenance deficit. The original language of HB 1001 represents a rational, long-term and sustainable system for roads, highways and bridges and is the Chamber’s preferred approach at this time.

Any movement is positive movement at this point and there are many elements to like in Kenley’s amendment, but another task force or working group (or whatever you care to call it) is viewed as unnecessary given the amount of timely studies and commissions that have already looked at the state’s infrastructure needs in recent years. The Chamber will work with all interested parties to address the state’s needs in the most rational and comprehensive way possible.

Call to Action: Please urge your representative and senator to support a long-term fix for Indiana’s roads and highways; you can do so online. Fuel taxes have not been raised in more than a decade and no other short-term policies will address the state’s needs as well as a set of comprehensive policies in the original HB 1001 language. No other legislation even comes close, even though short-term funding is helpful.