Posted on 04/10/2016 9:06:15 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A statewide, month long initiative to put the clamps on a Senate bill is underway.
Senate Bill 463 is aimed at redirecting highway money to the state general fund.
This weekend, the Kansas Contractors Association is running ads targeting lawmakers to get them to just say no.
It’s called Detour Greenlight and it’s pointed to 24 legislators they believe detour, or normally vote against protecting road and bridge funding.
It also names some who they say are for strong spending on roads.
“To redirect the little bit of sales tax that goes into the pot to fix our roads, maintain our bridges and to construct new projects is just wrong,” said Jim Ward, a Democratic Representative from Wichita.
Ward says governors in the past have pulled funds from, what is termed the bank of KDOT, and put the money back in later.
It’s something Ward says Governor Sam Brownback has failed to do.
“He’s taken two billion dollars out of the highway plan in his six year administration, that’s over a million dollars a day, there isn’t anyone who knows that isn’t going to have a terrible, negative impact on our roads and he hasn’t put anything back,” said Ward.
Those on the detour list include Republican Senator Michael O’Donnell.
“I believe some of the concern with our budgets is that if there does have to be a cut, would we cut roads or would we cut education and I think virtually everyone in Topeka said yeah, we’d rather save education dollars,” said O’Donnell.
However, O’Donnell says he remains neutral on the bill right now, knowing a decision on this bill will have wide ranging implications.
“Honestly for something like the department of transportation, this will impact all three million Kansans and everybody that travels to Kansas and away from Kansas, they’re going to be subjected to whatever our decision is,” said O’Donnell.
The Kansas Contractors Association plans to run ads on television and social networking sites throughout the month until a decision is made on the bill.
Whoever has the most money to buy ‘speeches’ wins... the hellhole is forming....
“He’s taken two billion dollars out of the highway plan in his six year administration”
Does anyone know what he spent it on ?
Does anyone know what he spent it on ?
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
???????
Spent about 1.85 bill on wild women, whiskey, dope, women, booze, smokes, fast cars, women.
Then he blew the rest of it.
Probably closer to the truth than what ANY of ‘them’ will give you....
Class action suit for taxation under false pretenses.
Brownback uses the money to patch budget holes caused by exempting hundreds of businesses from corporate tax.
Brownback is considered a ‘great Conservative” and a “great Christian” etc. etc. and he won re-election in 2014.
The contractors lose business if highway money is redirected so naturally they are lobbying public opinion with emotional ads making emotional arguments so they can get rich off taxpayer dollars.
Would you really want highway money re-directed toward education, given that the latter is partly responsible for millions of Bernie Sanders supporters?
Doyle the previous governor to Scott Walker pulled the same stuff off in Wisconsin. Diverting a 3 billion$ road fund to cover WEA (teacher union) retirements fund. When Walker ran a constitutional referendum was held to stop these types of fund diversion and was passed along with Walker’s election. And it met the second constitutional requirement being on the ballot and passing when Walker won his recall.
A few years ago an interstate bridge in Minnesota fell apart killing many as the needed maintenance was not done as the federal monies needed to repair it went in to the general fund and the money used for social programs instead.
California Governor Gray Davis was recalled because of this kind of crap & other crap.
HE raided the state highway find 3 times & left an IOU in place for the funds.
This came to light when the voters went after him for crazy deals regarding power coming into the state-—a state which was growing fast & where the enviros didn’t want ANY new power plants.
In all of the hubub, the stolen highway funds that went into the General Fund was revealed. That is what brought California ‘ARNOLD’.
If that bill goes through, watch for the pols to call for an increase in gasoline taxes “to repair the badly deteriorated roads and infrastructure”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.