AASHTO Journal, 10 May 2013
The Louisiana House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works this week approved a measure that would allow voters an opportunity to establish transportation districts, which could then collect revenue for transportation projects. The bill passed committee by a 16-0 vote.
House Bill 211 “authorizes the governing authority of any parish or municipality to create a local transportation district.” It also “provides for the boundaries, governance, powers and duties, and funding of the district, including the authority to levy a motor vehicle license fee upon approval by voters within the district.”
Rep. Patrick Connick, who sponsored the measure, says the bill essentially allows the voters to choose if they want these transportation districts that would charge a fee of $1 for every $1,000 of a vehicle’s purchase price. The money made through that fee would go to a fund for roadway maintenance.
“Speaking from experience, people don’t mind paying if they don’t take the money and waste it,” Connick said to the committee, according to The Times-Picayune.
The bill, formally titled House Bill 211, is available online here. The bill is scheduled for floor debate of the full House next week.