Speaker Lucas: House Introduces Roads Bills

Two Plans to Fix SC’s Crumbling Infrastructure

COLUMBIA, SC – House Speaker Jay Lucas (District 65-Darlington) released the following statement after several pieces of comprehensive infrastructure reform legislation were introduced in the House. Rep. Gary Simrill (District 46–York), Chairman of the House Ad Hoc Transportation Committee, introduced H. 3579, a bill that includes recommendations from the group’s extensive study.  Rep. Tommy Stringer (District 18-Greenville) also dropped a bill, H.3580, which outlines the income tax-roads plan Governor Haley unveiled in her State of the State address last month.

“Governor Haley and I have made tremendous progress towards paving the way to road repair. I have said from the beginning that agreeing on a responsible, sensible plan will require compromise and tough decision-making,” Speaker Jay Lucas stated. “Every single idea that is brought to the negotiation table deserves considerable discussion.”

Rep. Gary Simrill’s bill (i) restructures the Department of Transportation to promote efficiency, (ii) includes a funding mechanism that raises index-based revenue instead of a flat gas tax increase, (iii) reduces the size of government by giving counties the option to take back control of local roads, and (iv) continues a major shift in general fund monies to be used for road repair. The legislation was cosponsored by 64 additional Members of the House, to include: Reps. White, Lucas, Allison, Henderson, Limehouse, Newton, Ott, Clary, Collins, Delleney, Forrester, Gambrell, Hardwick, Hiott, Horne, Merrill, D. C. Moss, V. S. Moss, Murphy, Pitts, Pope, Sandifer, G. M. Smith, Sottile, Spires, Wells, Whitmire, Yow, Jefferson, Erickson, Funderburk, Duckworth, Hosey, Hixon, Clyburn, Knight, Herbkersman, H. A. Crawford, Felder, Hardee, Kirby, Willis, McCoy, Bradley, Douglas, Norrell, Long, Bales, Daning, Parks, Tallon, Anthony, Stavrinakis, Howard, Gagnon, Riley, Williams, Hayes, G. A. Brown, R. L. Brown, Hart, Loftis, Weeks and Whipper.

“After over five months of diligent and transparent study, I am extremely proud of the roadmap our ad hoc committee has proposed. This group, under the leadership of Representative Gary Simrill, successfully found a way to repair our roads without passing the burden onto South Carolina taxpayers. Their extensive research successfully plans for the future and optimizes resources to support the needs of South Carolinians and economic developers,” continued Speaker Lucas.

Rep. Tommy Stringer also introduced an income tax-roads plan that mirrors the proposal Governor Haley outlined in her State of the State address. This bill was cosponsored by 36 additional Members, to include: Reps. Toole, Ballentine, Hamilton, Rivers, Quinn, Taylor, Kennedy, Hixon, Erickson, Bannister, Allison, Huggins, Collins, Goldfinch, Atwater, G. R. Smith, Murphy, Bedingfield, Bingham, Cole, Felder, Forrester, Gagnon, Henderson, Hicks, Horne, Loftis, McCoy, D. C. Moss, Nanney, Norman, Pope, G. M. Smith, Tallon, Wells and Willis.

“Today is a great day for South Carolina because we have two different roads plans that share the goal of repairing our infrastructure. The bottom line is that both the House and the Governor are focused on fixing our roads while simultaneously making our government more efficient. Moving forward, Governor Haley and I will continue to engage in open conversations. I am confident we will find common ground in the near future given the progress we have made thus far,” Speaker Lucas concluded.