Road Commission Dissolution Measures Pass to Governor

Two bills that allow counties to absorb the duties of and dissolve road commissions passed the House of Representatives Tuesday after failing to do so in December. The measures now move to the Governor for his expected signature.

House Bill 5125, sponsored by Representative Jon Switalski (D-Warren), and House Bill 5126, sponsored by Representative Dale Zorn (R-Ida), both passed on 63-41 votes with roughly 16 Republican members casting “no” votes and 17 Democratic members supporting the bills.

Democrats were united in their opposition to the same bills in December, fueling speculation that a deal had been struck; however, House Democratic Leader Rick Hammel (D-Mount Morris Township) stated that the Democrat’s opposition in December was the result of the Caucus’ understanding that the two bills were supposed to be part of a larger, bipartisan package. Now that the 30-bill bipartisan transportation package has been introduced, Rep. Hammel explained that his Caucus members were comfortable supporting the road commission dissolution measures.

In related news, the House Transportation Committee held a hearing Wednesday on House Bills 5301, 5302 and 5313 – three of the 30 bills in the bipartisan transportation package recently introduced. The three bills propose to require road agencies and road commissions to develop and maintain dashboards, review and adjust signal device timing every five years, certify to the Department of Transportation that they are compliant with the required 80/20 split on health insurance and put all new employees on defined contribution retirement programs.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, February 10, 2012 10:30 AM
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