2012 LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
Advocating for Local Issues including WVU and Roads
As a lawyer, I am trained to be an advocate,and two issues I will fight for are West Virginia University, my alma mater, and roads.
Support for WVU is our number one local issue because WVU is the economic engine for our region. In contrast to the rest of the state and even nationally, we have been blessed with low unemployment and a desirable local economy for years. Our prosperity in Monongalia County can largely be attributed to the presence of WVU. It is a given that our local delegation will fight hard to protect WVU and ensure that it will continue to be the catalyst for our continued economic good fortune.
Our roads in Monongalia County are just plain terrible. Finding funding to maintain our roads has been a long-term challenge. The Secretary of Transportation has raised the idea of putting a road bond before the people and I support that. Our constitution includes a provision that does not allow the state to go into debt. This is a good general rule. However, sometimes there are important objectives for which borrowing makes sense.
On several occasions in the past, the state has passed constitutional amendments to provide additional funding for roads. I believe it is time to do that once again. A bond is like a mortgage. I believe that our roads are an important state asset that is swiftly deteriorating. To maintain that asset will require the taxpayers to make an investment, and because the amount that is needed is so large – at least a billion dollars – it makes sense for the state to borrow money to accomplish this important purpose.
One of the requirements for a state bond is to include a new source of steady funding to support the bond. That will be difficult, but not insurmountable. Once that is done, a constitutional amendment authorizing the sale of bonds is drafted and must pass both the House and the Senate by a two thirds vote. Then the proposal is put on the ballot. If it passes by a simple majority, the bond will be issued.
If there is support for this idea in the Legislature, I hope to be guiding this proposal through the House Committee on Constitutional Revision, which I chair.
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