Stalled state road plan expected to start moving

By Jack Brammer – jbrammer@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A massive state road construction plan that stops the state’s gas tax from falling is expected to start moving again Thursday in the legislature after stalling on Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader Dan Kelly, R-Springfield, said Wednesday night that the legislation is expected to clear the Senate on Thursday.

The legislation then would go back to the House, which must vote on any changes made by the Senate.

Kelly said the Senate will make “relatively minor” changes to the plan.

“In any bill of that magnitude, there are some clean-up measures,” Kelly said.

Kelly dismissed rumors that the Senate was delaying action on the road plan until the House approved Senate Bill 1, which deals with student testing.

The House passed an amended version of SB 1 Wednesday, and it was headed to a conference committee made up of senators and representatives to iron out the two chambers’ differences.

Senate Transportation Chairman Ernie Harris, R-Crestwood, said he was not aware of any serious problems with the road plan legislation.

He said there are sufficient votes to approve a funding scheme that locks in the current 21.1 cents a gallon tax rate to pay for it.
The gas tax is supposed to drop by 4 cents on April 1. It is tied to the wholesale price of gasoline, which has declined in recent months.

The road plan calls for construction of $3.7 billion worth of roads over the next 16 months, but a companion funding bill only provides between $1.2 billion and $1.4 billion in cash, depending on how much money the state borrows through bonds.

Thursday is the 27th day of this year’s legislative session. After Friday, legislators will be out of town until they return March 26 and 27 to consider any vetoes issued by Gov. Steve Beshear.

Filed Under: Featured • KY General Assembly • Steve Beshear