Tom Warne Report, 18 August 2013
Texas lawmakers recently passed highway funding proposal is being called a “Band-Aid on a pot hole” by the state’s Speaker of the House Joe Strauss, as the plan is sent to voters in 2014. The funding measure is not expected to make a dent for the state’s transportation system, which is struggling under the ballooning population. The number of Texans more than doubled between 1970 and 2010, to 25.1 million and is now nearly 27 million.
That number is expected to double again by 2050 if the rate of people moving into the state continues. The Texas Department of Transportation maintains more than 80,000 miles of roadway throughout the state, and drivers travel those roads nearly 480 million miles per day.
Unfortunately, the funding for the state’s highways has not risen with the population. The extra funds recently approved by the Legislature total about $1 billion per year, while experts say $4 billion to $5 billion a year is actually needed. In the three special sessions it took to pass the funding plan, several potential new revenue sources were considered, including raising fees for licenses and permits, or earmarking sales tax revenue on vehicles. None of these options survived, however. Lawmakers opted to pass a constitutional amendment that diverts a portion of the oil and gas revenue from the rainy day fund to the state highway fund.