Gov. Easley talks transportation and special sessions
Gov. Mike Easley called a news conference to talk about signing a trio of ethics bills, so of course we scruffy media types wanted to talk about everything else under the sun. (More on the ethics bills later.)
Among the things he was asked about was whether he might call a special session of the legislature for transportation and what the state might do to keep up with the needs of its aging roadways and bridges.
Easley talked about getting a bipartisan group of legislators, DOT and others together to come up with an answer to the problem of funding highway construction and repair.
"Hopefully everybody recognizes we're going to have to come up with a solution for transportation, it's going to require more money and there's never a popular way to find more money," Easley said.
Click here to listen to Easley's full answers to transportation questions asked today.
He pointed out that the formula used to pay into the highway trust fund doesn't seem to be working any more. Increasing prices for construction materials, more fuel efficient cars, the gas tax cap and other factors have put the state behind.
As for a special session, Easley said he only wants the honorables to come back to town if there is a plan for them to work with and pass.
Talk of a special session got started following the bridge collapse in Minnesota and this year's budget, which didn't do much by way of beefing up infrastructure. In fact, a last minute effort to throw some money toward the toll road authority croacked because of its funding mechanism.
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