Governor LePage: Support of the Transportation Bond Supports Economic Stability and Jobs
AUGUSTA – Governor Paul R. LePage released a video Monday highlighting the need for a $100 million transportation bond. View the three minute video here.
Support of the Transportation Bond Supports Economic Stability and Jobs
The growing debate over whether the Legislature should move quickly to pass a transportation bond comes down to one thing – jobs.
As your Governor, I want Mainers to have good-paying jobs, and I want businesses to have the support to expand in our great State.
As lawmakers examine nearly a billion dollars of bond projects, our Administration is asking for just one bond to go to voters this November.
Our Administration, in March, proposed a $100 million transportation bond, which allows the Maine Department of Transportation to plan projects for the next three years.
It provides $81 million for improvement to highways and bridges, and it provides job stability to those in the construction industry, where more than 8,000 jobs have been lost since 2006.
We designate another $19 million for improvements to multimodal facilities that would support projects, such as major development on the Portland waterfront, as well as preserving rail connections for Maine businesses.
Our roads and ports continue to be a focus of economic opportunity that helps create jobs. But the federal government has flat funded transportation projects, and vehicles that are more fuel-efficient are generating less revenue in fuel taxes. With those decreases in revenue, this bond is needed now.
Even with the approval of $100 million bond, Maine’s highway and bridge programs are still facing a funding shortfall.
Democratic leadership so far has failed to act, and timing is critical. The Secretary of State’s Office needs bonds approved for the November ballot by the middle of August. The early deadline ensures our military troops overseas receive an opportunity to vote – surely a right our uniformed men and women deserve.
With strong bipartisan support from Democrats and Republicans alike, there should be no hold up on this transportation bond. There will be time in January to continue the bond debate for other projects.
Once again, we are at a crossroads. Democrats have a choice. They can do the right thing by supporting economic development and jobs or they can delay again.
The time to act is now and Mainers are depending on us.