Too many elected officials are using the Minneapolis bridge collapse to make political capital (see Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who vetoed a tax increase to pay for road repairs). State Sen. John Carona, a Republican whose district includes parts of East Dallas, apparently wants to actually fix al those aging bridges and highways.
Carona said yesterday he will introduce a constitutional amendment to force the state to spend gas tax money to maintain roads. Under the current system, gas tax money pays for a variety of state services, including the Department of Public Safety — even though it’s technically supposed to be used for highway-related services. To get around that limit, the Legislature has expanded the definition of highway-related services.
Carona told Dallas’ Only Daily Newspaper that nearly $1 billion in gas tax revenue was diverted in the state’s most recent budget. That money could have been leveraged with bond debt to pay for nearly $10 billion in road construction or maintenance. That the legislature didn’t do this, sadly, is not surprising to anyone who pays attention to what goes on down there.
