The best news about road funding legislation this week is that the House leadership and the Governor continue to develop an initial bill that can move easily through the House. I applaud them for their work and continued good will.
As both branches have worked diligently to find common ground, a greater number of Republican House members have realized the value of the Governor’s plan and are openly demanding that a compromise bill be filed. It seems that they have realized that greater success can be found in working with a Governor who is a member of our own party instead of against her.
It is unfortunate that past Republicans did not figure this out twelve years ago when Gov. Jim Hodges was defeated – the last Democrat to hold that office. Many opportunities to bring conservative reforms to our state government have been lost during that time.
We are fortunate that both the Governor’s plan and the House Transportation Committee’s plan contain several good ideas that provide a foundation for success. Much work still needs to be done.
We should remember that it has taken a decade of ignoring the issue to bring us to this crisis. It will take more than a couple of weeks to finalize a solution.