Rep. Douglas Withdraws Highway Funding Bill, New Task Force To Come

A lawmaker on Thursday said he was optimistic that the state’s highway funding issues will be resolved in the near future with the creation of a working group.

Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, said he has withdrawn House Bill 1346 from any further consideration this session.

The bill would have set aside money from the sale of new and used cars, as well as car parts, to go to road funding.

Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department director Scott Bennett said Feb. 19 that there would be a $17 billion shortfall in funding over the next 10 years without any changes.

The bill was approved by the House Public Transportation committee Feb. 19, but had been on hold due to questions from officials from the state’s universities as well as Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

The vast majority of the funding (70%) would have gone to highways with the rest split evenly between cities and counties.

Douglas said he met this week with Gov. Asa Hutchinson, along with officials from the state Department of Education and agency heads, about the issue.

Douglas said he received an assurance from Hutchinson that the working group would be created by the end of the session.

The group would take a look at the issue, including funding concerns, and make a recommendation for the future, Douglas said.

Douglas said he expects Hutchinson and his staff to be “highly involved” in discussions involving the issue.