THE HON. (and honorable) Asa Hutchinson had a number of stories to tell the Political Animals Club in Little Rock the other day, and a number of them made good sense. To mention just one of them, he’s all for letting the voters decide on a tax on sales of gasoline and other fuels to improve roads. The state needs the roads and We the People need to be heard from in no uncertain terms on a variety of issues—not just this one.
Gov. Hutchinson said lawmakers agreed not to push the idea through the Ledge, but instead change a bill on the tax to allow the people to decide in a vote next year. The state’s motto, after all, is Regnat populus, so why not let them?
“With that change,” the governor said, “it is hard for me to see how we should not say that a new highway plan should be the option of the voters in 2018. We are going to be referring tort reform as a constitutional amendment for the voters to decide. They are going to get to decide voter ID [and] I would like for them to have the opportunity to also vote on a highway plan for Arkansas’ future.” He would go on to add: “I can’t think of any good arguments against referring to the people an opportunity to vote on a highway plan in a general election.”
Then the legislature was heard from.
On Tuesday, the state House of Representatives didn’t even get close to passing the bill to allow the voters to be heard on this matter. It’s understandable that some lawmakers don’t want to appear to be pro-tax. But why not be pro-voter, and let the people decide if they’re willing to pay more to fix this state’s 16,000-mile road system?
As for the governor, he and his staff have definitely done their homework on this highway stuff. For he says that the state should be able to come up with the funds to match what the feds can provide, eventually. The new president has promised to spend on infrastructure. The states will probably be asked to match at least some of that funding.
But unless the legislature decides to trust the rest of us, a lot of that money might go elsewhere.