In what has seemingly become an annual ritual at the Capitol, members of West Virginians for Better Transportation rallied Monday for increased funding to repair and maintain the state's deteriorating road system.
For a second straight year, legislative leaders pledged support to increase highways funding at the “Fix Our Roads Now” rally, but again, offered little in the way of specifics for how they will raise millions in additional road funds.
One exception was Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Chris Walters, R-Putnam, who said his committee will be taking up legislation to keep tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike, a source of $85 million of annual revenue that is currently set to expire in 2019.
“That's funding we cannot afford to lose in our budget,” Walters said.
Walters also said his committee will not act on a Tomblin administration bill that would move about $9 million a year of sales taxes collected on purchases of materials used for road construction or maintenance from the Division of Highways' budget to the general revenue fund to help close budget shortfalls in the current and fiscal 2016-17 state budgets.
Otherwise, leaders who spoke Monday acknowledged the need for increased highways funding, but were vague about how to raise those funds.
House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, told a smaller-than-usual rally turnout, “We're going to continue to make sure we have adequate funding, and make it a priority.”
He cited a just-completed $500,000 audit of the Division of Highways commissioned by the Legislature, which identified $25 million to $50 million of potential annual savings. However, in a study released last spring, the governor's Blue Ribbon Commission on Highways concluded that the state needs $750 million to $1.l billion a year of additional funding to adequately maintain and construct the state highway system.
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin did not mention highways funding in his State of the State address last week.
House Roads and Transportation Committee Chairman Marty Gearhart, R-Mercer, told the rally the Legislature is looking at “innovative ways to fund roads that don't increase taxes,” but did not provide details.
Noting that legislatures in every surrounding state have increased transportation funding, Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, said, “We will be doing the same thing. We will make this a priority in West Virginia.”
Carmichael, who stood in for Senate President Bill Cole, R-Mercer, added, “Trust me, we hear from our constituents every day about the condition of our roads and bridges. We're looking every day for ways to improve the infrastructure in our state.”
Made up of more than 300 groups and organizations representing contractors, construction trades unions, chambers of commerce, economic development authorities, and various highways authorities, West Virginians for Better Transportation has rallied at the Legislature annually since 2012.
On Monday, the group launched a “Fix Our Roads Now” media campaign that includes billboards and newspaper, radio and TV advertising, including a 30-second spot that resembles a video game with a car that loses points every time it hits a pothole — depicting the higher costs of vehicle maintenance from driving on bad roads.
Reach Phil Kabler at phik@wvgazettemail.com, 304 348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.