Juneau -- The House Transportation Committee passed out House Joint Resolution 5 on Tuesday.

Representative Alan Austerman (R-Kodiak) introduced this legislation to allow the people of Alaska to vote on placing a dedicated highway fund, marine highway fund and a harbor fund within the Alaska Constitution.

All states dedicate motor fuel taxes, but they vary in whether the dedication is established by statute or constitution. In Alaska, the legislature may appropriate funds from special accounts for transportation purposes. By placing this dedication in the constitution, all monies collected shall be mandated for maintenance.

Austerman stated, "Transportation is a fundamental component in any society's infrastructure. We must ensure that the Alaska Department of Transportation be given dedicated funding to maintain our roads."

By establishing a dedicated fund, Alaska's citizens might be more inclined to accept an increase in the highway and marine fuel tax, if they knew the money would be spent specifically on the maintenance of our highways and harbor facilities.

Austerman further stated, "The maintenance portion of DOT's budget has long been inadequately funded. This is evident across our state in the form of potholes, frost heaves, unsafe bridges, inadequate ditching that leads to flooding, little or no vegetation control, little or no sign maintenance and improper guardrail repair."

In the wintertime it leads to a lack of snow removal in some areas and poor response times in other areas. It has also led to poor ice control, both on the highways and for the drainage structures, which exacerbates the conditions on the roadway. The stark reality is - people have died on the roadways of Alaska because of the lack of proper maintenance.

Attachment(s):

• Sponsor Statement
  
• Sectional Analysis
  

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