Gov.-Elect Edwards Aims to Block Louisiana Budget Raids on Transportation Funds

AASHTO Journal, 18 December 2015

Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards has named a Transportation Transition Committee and charged it with helping find ways to protect the Louisiana Transportation Trust Fund from being raided for other budget purposes, and finding more transportation money, the News Star reported.

He named a trucking executive from Shreveport to chair the large panel that includes officials from various business development, construction and labor groups.

The report said Edwards, who takes office Jan. 11, also wants his committee to recommend ways to increase by 25 percent the amount of transportation infrastructure funding in the state’s Capital Outlay budget, shrink a $12 billion maintenance backlog for roads and bridges and obtain more federal funding for projects.

“Our roads, bridges and ports are critical economic drivers in our state,” Edwards said in a press release. ”If we want to be competitive and produce more jobs for Louisianans, we must face our infrastructure problem with the urgency and funding mechanisms required.”

Separately, Edwards told the HoumaToday.comnews service that “it’s going to be difficult” to find money to pay for needed projects that have struggled for funding. But, he said, “having $60 million more in the transportation trust fund not going to the department of public safety and allocating an additional 25 percent of capital outlay, that’s a good first step.”

He also noted that Congress had passed a long-term surface transportation bill “that will provide some stability and predictability and a certain amount of funding.” That measure will also concentrate some funds on congested corridors, Edwards said, “and Louisiana has several good candidates.”

This entry was posted in General News, Legislative / Political, News. Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.