Road-tax ruling fuels both sides’ arguments

Backers push Issue 1; foes say point proved

The Arkansas Supreme Court decision Thursday to bar money from the 0.5% sales tax for funding highways, bridges and local roads from being spent on 30 Crossing provided political fodder for both sides of a proposed constitutional amendment to make the tax permanent that voters will decide Tuesday.

The state’s high court ruled 6-1 that based on the language of Amendment 91 to the Arkansas Constitution, the state Department of Transportation cannot use that money for projects on highways wider than four lanes, which includes the nearly $1 billion 30 Crossing project and the already completed widening of a section of Interstate 630 in west Little Rock.

Voters approved the amendment and tax in 2012 as part of the $1.8 billion Connecting Arkansas Program, focused on regionally significant projects such as the Interstate 30 corridor through downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock.

The tax was proposed to be a temporary one and is in place for 10 years. It is scheduled to expire in 2023.

Voters now are being asked to approve another 0.5% statewide sales tax for funding highways, bridges and local roads. On the ballot as Issue 1, the proposal would make the tax permanent .

The campaign to pass Issue 1 has been led by Gov. Asa

Hutchinson and the Vote for Roads, Vote for Issue 1 committee, which is chaired by Arkansas Trucking Association President Shannon Newton.

In a statement Friday, the governor said the court ruling “should impress on everyone an even greater urgency for Issue 1.”

“The Supreme Court decision ruled that the original highway program (Connecting Arkansas) cannot be fulfilled because of the restriction to only spend the bond money on 4 lane projects,” the statement continued. “This means that the bond money cannot be spent on the major Central Arkansas project.

“Issue 1 allows the state to “pay-as-you-go” for highway projects and provides flexibility without the constraints of the Connect Arkansas bond program.”

A group opposed to Issue 1, the No Permanent Tax. No on Issue 1 committee, seized on the decision as evidence the Transportation Department cannot be trusted with public money.

“This ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court shows ArDOT has been misusing taxpayer dollars to fund large projects in Little Rock for years,” said Ryan Norris, the committee chairman and Arkansas director of Americans for Prosperity. “ArDOT is currently under audit for wasteful spending and the court’s decision validates how unaccountable the transportation department has become by taking funds that should have gone to road maintenance and 4-lane highways across the state as it had promised the voters in 2012.

“Voting no on Issue 1 would bring some accountability back to the people and the people’s representatives.”

Newton called it a “little bit of a stretch” to tie Issue 1 with a ruling dealing with Amendment 91.

“It doesn’t have any bearing on the Issue 1 campaign,” she said. “Our efforts are to secure adequate and long-term funding for highways, bridges, county roads and city streets in Arkansas.”

In a statement Friday, the Arkansas Highway Commission defended the projects and the way they were funded.

The I-30 and I-630 projects were on a list of Connecting Arkansas Program projects that was “communicated statewide” and the department’s portion of the sales tax has only been used on the “identified projects,” the statement said.

“The Arkansas Highway Commission and the Arkansas Department of Transportation acted in good faith in funding the 30 Crossing and Interstate 630 projects with the ½ cent sales tax revenue,” the statement added. “Both projects were promised in 2012 to Arkansas voters and are important improvements to Central Arkansas and to our State’s 4-lane Grid System.”

Opponents said they fear the Issue 1 money will go solely to pay for the 30 Crossing project, which is designed to improve the 6.7-mile section of I-30 between Interstate 530 in Little Rock and Interstate 40 in North Little Rock, including replacing the bridge over the Arkansas River.

The department says the stretch, with 120,000 vehicles daily, is the busiest corridor in the state. The project also includes improvements for a small section of Interstate 40 between I-30 and U.S. 67 in North Little Rock.

“It is now beyond dispute that the impact of Issue 1 will be to take money from citizens from across this state and spend it all on a single 7-mile stretch in Little Rock and North Little Rock — a project that all objective experts recognize is a breathtaking waste of money,” said Joshua Silverstein, vice chairman for the No Permanent Tax. No on Issue 1 committee. “That is quite simply absurd.”

The Transportation Department and its policy panel, the Highway Commission, have not said how they will pay for 30 Crossing. About $450 million in Amendment 91 funding was committed to the project.

If voters approve Issue 1, state officials project the state Transportation Department would receive about $205 million a year, while cities and counties would each get about $44 million a year for their roads.

In Friday’s statement, the commission would reiterate only that it and the Transportation Department are “considering alternative ways to fund these projects consistent with the Supreme Court’s order.”