CAPA BLOG: Road Warrior
Making transportation a priority on Jones Street
06/15/2011
CAPA Blog: One Day Closer to Adjournment
My day began with a call from a DOT lobbyist telling me the gas tax cap was back on the table. Apparently the Appropriations Chairs of the House and Senate had a meeting to discuss capping the tax at the current level. We are told they aren’t going to take up the cap because they realize they would have to go back into the budget to re-balance it if they made that change. Needless to say the day was like a roller-coaster ride.
Despite a valiant attempt by Democratic Rep. Ray Rapp and Republican Rep. Ric Killian to prevent it, the House passed a bill (SB 750) that included sections to prevent medians on specific highways in certain legislators’ districts. If you’ve been reading this blog all along you know that the “Legislators as Engineers” issue has been a recurring theme. For all their talk about taking politics out of NCDOT it seems some legislators are quite willing to exercise their political muscle when it suits them. During the debate on the medians tonight the response to safety studies that showed the need for the medians instead of center “suicide lanes” was that “the engineers don’t know what they are doing”. SB 750 will go back to the Senate for concurrence but I’m betting the median sections of the bill are pulled out. This is when hardball begins, with each Chamber holding up key bills wanted by the other body. Looks like we are coming down to a battle of wills between the Rules Chairs of the House and Senate.
After meeting until after midnight last night the House adjourned “early” tonight – shortly after nine. The Senate met until close to 11:00 p.m. The Senate has been very clear that they are closing down and adjourning by Friday. A lot has to happen to wind things up by then.
