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It's as if South Carolina is channeling the Texas legislature...inaction and taking the short-term easy way out -- more debt -- rather than face the road funding shortfall and properly fund roads with taxes collected.
Road improvement plan approved in S.C. Senate
By Tim Smith
Greenville Online
May 23, 2013
COLUMBIA -- Major bridge and road projects could be funded statewide under a road plan approved by the Senate that could spend $500 million on the state’s crumbling infrastructure.
The plan surfaced Thursday during budget debate and was approved with bi-partisan support as a budget amendment.
The amendment, introduced by Sen. Nikki Setzler, a Lexington County Democrat, would send $50 million via the state Department of Transportation to the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank, which could then issue bonds for as much as $500 million, senators told GreenvilleOnline.com.
The money could only be spent on bridges, road rehabilitation or interstate improvements. It couldn’t be used on prior-approved projects.
“It seems like the people of South Carolina are telling us that they want their roads fixed,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman told the Senate. “We’ve heard that over and over and over again. To me this is just the first step.”
The $500 million in bonds has been an idea pushed by Setzler, leader of Senate Democrats, and also is part of a roads plan that would raise almost $2 billion but may not surface for debate before the Legislature adjourns early next month.
With the clock ticking, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate voiced support for the amendment.
“I think it’s a win-win for the major arteries and smaller counties,” Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler said. “I think it’s a great amendment and I support it 100 percent.”
Peeler’s support is significant because he has been critical of the State Infrastructure Bank because most of its funding has gone to a handful of counties.
He initially said he supported the amendment because it would add four seats to the Infrastructure Bank board. But the version approved by the Senate doesn’t alter the board.
Instead, it requires DOT to submit a list of projects to be considered by the board using the new money.
Sen. Ray Cleary, chairman of the committee that produced the stand-alone road funding bill, said he supports the amendment as a “sensible approach” to begin the process of road funding.
“I would love to take the whole approach, but if we have to do it piecemeal because we’re at the end of the session, I think it makes sense,” he said.
It was unclear Thursday how the amendment would work under the Infrastructure Bank’s regulations.
For instance, the bank only considers projects costing $100 million or more. It also requires a local match and to be bonded, the roads or bridges being worked on have to have at least a 15-year lifespan, Cleary said. That means resurfacing or repairs might not be eligible, he said.
Sen. Larry Grooms, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, suggested the bank’s rules could be met by having DOT submit the projects, as is now required in the amendment. Normally, local governments submit applications for funding with the bank.
Grooms said he would like the Senate next year to add $50 million in recurring money to make the total appropriation $100 million.
“You can build some roads,” he said. “You can improve some roads, you can maintain some roads and build some bridges by doing that. I’m pleased now the direction we’re headed.”
Bill Ross, executive director of the South Carolina Alliance To Fix Our Roads, said it is clear the Senate won’t be able to take up the stand-alone legislation to raise money for roads with the time remaining in this year’s session. So the move to send $50 million to be used by the Infrastructure Bank offers some help, he said.
“At least this gives us something that we can work with,” he said.
For the amendment approved Thursday to become reality, it must also be approved by the House.
Once the Senate approves a budget plan, it will then be sent to the House. If the House doesn’t accept the Senate’s version, both chambers will appoint negotiators to work out the differences.
The House last month passed legislation that would send about $80 million a year in vehicle sales tax revenue to the state Department of Transportation. It also included $60 million in its budget for bridge repairs.
The Senate this week and last debated various proposals for spending a certain percentage of the budget or of new money on roads but none of the proposals passed.
Cleary’s committee has proposed the state borrow $1.3 billion, raise some fees and index the gas tax for inflation.
Gov. Nikki Haley has told lawmakers repeatedly she opposes any increase in the gas tax.
A DOT task force last year estimated it would take $1.5 billion over the next 20 years to bring the state’s infrastructure up to adequate condition. A business coalition estimated the price tag at $6 billion over 10 years. Officials with two of the state’s top business organizations say they support the Senate plan.
DOT commissioners and many lawmakers have said without additional help the state cannot complete the state’s maintenance backlog and delays only increase the price because roads that deteriorate too far have to be rebuilt, not just repaved.
The state operates the fourth-largest state-maintained road system in the nation with one of the lowest fuel taxes, which was last raised in 1987.
Nearly half the state’s primary road system is graded in poor condition, and more than half of the state’s secondary roads are rated that way.