He also said the city will move to narrow Washington and Jefferson boulevards downtown.INDIANAPOLIS – A key Senate fiscal leader said Thursday he will likely gut a House-passed state stimulus plan that would have provided up to $1 billion to local government for roads and streets over the next two years.
Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said local units will receive $198 million from the federal stimulus package, and he doesn’t think additional state dollars will be available.
The House had tapped $500 million from the Next Generation Trust Fund – proceeds from the Indiana Toll Road lease that lawmakers chose to set aside for future use. It also depended on other federal grants to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
The overall purpose of House Bill 1656 was to create jobs for Hoosiers in the road-building industry.
Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson, said local roads and streets have a documented $2.2 billion in short-term needs, noting that 90 percent of the state’s roads are local.
"We need to drive as many dollars to locals as possible," she said, noting that legislators have siphoned hundreds of millions in gas-tax money, which previously would have gone to local governments, to pay for the Indiana State Police and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
Michael Reed, the new commissioner of the Indiana Department of Transportation, gave senators a detailed rundown of state and local highway revenue sources. The state has traditionally given 25 percent of its regular federal highway allocation to local government.
That percentage would amount to $266 million for fiscal year 2010, starting in July.
That is on top of the $198 million in additional money from the federal stimulus package.
"Is that enough money (for locals)? I’m sure it’s not," Reed said. "Is it the right level? Probably not."
Kenley also acknowledged the long-term problem for local units but said Indiana doesn’t have a permanent solution right now.
He did say using the Next Generation Trust Fund is off the table: "I don’t see a reason to do that given the money the federal stimulus package is bringing to Indiana."
As for whether additional state money can be given to local governments to build roads, Kenley said he will have to wait to see how state tax collections look in the April revenue forecast.
He also said the Senate will combine all three House bills representing a state budget into one budget bill that will also include how to spend other money from the federal stimulus package.
