An update on legislative issues highlighted Thursday night?s annual meeting of the Green Hills Resource Conservation and Development Council held at Trenton High School.
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An update on legislative issues highlighted Thursday night?s annual meeting of the Green Hills Resource Conservation and Development Council held at Trenton High School.
12th District State Sen. David Klindt, R-Bethany, and Third District State Rep. Jim Whorton, D-Trenton, discussed what is happening in Jefferson City as the Missouri Legislature winds down its 2002 session. Both men talked about the budget and some of the proposals being looked at in regard to transportation.
Klindt said the budget has taken up considerable time in the Senate, with legislators working to make sure that everyone is treated fairly in the process while also watching out for issues that affect their district. He noted that the Senate Appropriations Committee has pretty much finished its budget plan, which he said moved much faster than many had thought it would. The plan will now go before the full Senate and Klindt said he anticipates many changes before a final proposal is approved and sent on to the House for its consideration.
The legislature is required by law to have a budget measure on the governor?s desk by May 10. Should that not happen, Klindt said he expects the governor to call a special session to run concurrently with the final week of the legislature, which ends its regular session on May 17. Should a budget still not be agreed to, a second special session is likely.
Klindt discussed the transportation funding package that received first-round approval from the Senate this week, which he said still had some things that will need to be worked out before he could fully support the measure. The plan calls for an increase in the gasoline tax and the state sales tax, which would have to go to the voters for their approval before it could be put into effect. Klindt said that is a requirement that is essential, letting the people decide whether or not more taxes should be levied for transportation. He did voice concern about proposing tax increases at a time when many local entities are asking voters for more money to build things important to the communities, including jails and new schools.
Klindt said it is important that accountability as to where the funds are going is included in the proposal, noting that many people are concerned about the money being diverted to other places in the budget. He said money that is going to the highway patrol should stay with that department, but that all of the other funding should remain for transportation purposes.
Klindt has offered an amendment to stop the diversion of those funds, beginning in FY2005. The reason that date was picked, Klindt said, is to give the state time to shore up its financial situation. He added that the amendment is important because it allows for ?people to know exactly where the money is going.?
A second amendment offered by Klindt would require that 4 percent of the tax increase be put into biodiesel and ethanol projects. He already has a bill in the Senate to create a biodiesel fund, which would make money available to help start value-added agriculture businesses, including alternative energy plants that use soybeans, corn or other agriculture products. Both Klindt and Whorton touted the importance of value-added agriculture in north Missouri, which Klindt noted would be a boom to economic development in rural areas.
If the transportation plan wins approval in the legislature, it would appear on the August ballot.
The House also has a transportation plan it will be looking at next week, which Whorton said would provide some accountability for the transportation monies the department is already spending in the state. With assistance from regional planning commissions throughout the state, the transportation department would receive public input as to where project monies are needed and the department would then build a priority list of projects to be paid for based on four criteria – population, employment, miles driven and the square footage of bridge surfaces. Those projects would be funding from 80 percent of the state and federal monies received for roads. The other 20 percent would go for major projects, such as interstates, that affect persons statewide.
The 80 percent funding would be divided among the areas served by the regional planning commissions, Whorton said. In the case of the 11 counties served by the Green Hills RPC, which includes Grundy County, the area would receive approximately 2.65 percent of the 80 percent of the funds. Whorton said this would amount to a little over 10 million to be spent in the 11 counties. Whorton said that while he is still studying the plan, he is concerned about the use of population, employment and road usage to determine where the funds go, adding that north Missouri would probably not score as high in those criteria as some other areas would. He did say, however, that he believed the plan meet the accountability issue that seems to be of the most concern to residents.
During the business meeting, the RC&D Council elected Bud Cox of Trenton as president. R.L. Reed of Chillicothe was selected as vice president.
Gary Fak, RC&D administrator, gave a brief rundown of projects conducted by the organization during the past year, including grantwriting, wetlands and rural fire protection.