Baton Rouge, La. (September 29, 2017) – Today, the BUILD IT coalition announced its support for Constitutional Amendment No. 3, which will require all new gas tax revenues be dedicated solely to the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure projects.
BUILD IT: Businesses United for Improving Louisiana’s Development by Investing in Transportation, is a statewide coalition made up of more than 30 economic development and business organizations who support an increased investment in our state’s transportation infrastructure.
Legislators and members of the public have asked for more accountability related to transportation funding to ensure the funds are spent on roads and bridges and not DOTD employee wages and benefits. Amendment No. 3 seeks to restore trust and confidence in the the Transportation Trust Fund by constitutionally protecting new funds for direct project costs and preventing new funds from being spent on administrative overhead.
“Everybody knows we have an infrastructure problem, but in order to solve it, it’s important for taxpayers to know exactly where their money is going,” said Rep. Major Thibaut. “That’s why I sponsored this amendment – to ensure that any new gas tax revenue will pay for important roads and bridges.”
Louisiana has a backlog of more than $13 billion in needs for the existing transportation system, with another $10.5 billion needed for priority megaprojects. Without additional state revenue, Louisiana will lose the ability to meet the required match for full federal funding by 2019.
The BUILD IT coalition’s guiding principles call for restoring trust in the Transportation Trust Fund, and prohibiting the transfer of TTF funds to non-transportation uses. That is what this amendment would accomplish.
About the BUILD IT Coalition: Businesses United for Improving Louisiana’s Development by Investing in Transportation is a coalition made up of business and industry groups across the State who believe that Louisiana’s overburdened and under-maintained transportation system is unacceptable, and a revenue increase sufficient to address the problem is required. The Coalition represents more than 30 statewide, regional, and local economic development and industry groups.
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