For Immediate
Release: September 15, 2005
Sen. Cal Hobson
Senate Transportation Chair Fears Republican Transportation Plan
Will Leave Rural Oklahoma Behind
The Republican transportation plan announced yesterday
that seeks to increase appropriations to counties across Oklahoma
will do so at the risk of Oklahoma school children, Senator Cal
Hobson warned today.
“The dollars it will take to increase the county appropriation
from 15 percent to 30 percent will have to come from somewhere
because those dollars are designated for specific services that
Oklahomans count on every single day,” Hobson (D-Lexington)
said. “And that will mean less money for education-leaving
Oklahoma school children behind.”
Hobson, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, said the
plank of the Republican plan that increases appropriations to
counties is full of fatal flaws because it requires county elected
officials to apply for funds from a politically appointed commission.
“Democrats in the Senate have long been supporters of funding
transportation plans for county roads and bridges.” Hobson
said. “It is no secret that Democrats have been the first
line of defense against others in the Legislature who sought to
diminish the vital role county government plays in growing rural
Oklahoma.”
Hobson said county commissioners are elected officials in their
own right and know better the transportation needs of a county
than does a politically appointed commission.
“I am confident that a county commissioner in Creek County
has a better understanding of the dangerous roads and bridges
in their own backyard than does a politician or ODOT official
in Oklahoma City,” the Senator said. “Their plan to
help counties is not a plan at all-it’s a promise-and one
that they more than likely won’t be able to keep.”
Hobson also added that the Republican plan has the potential to
slow down the process of repairing county roads and bridges and
leave rural Oklahoma in the dust.
“Anytime you politicize the process of a transportation
plan, you are asking for a disaster,” Hobson said. “By
requiring county elected officials to apply for funds from a politically
appointed commission, Oklahomans will see a biased selection of
roads and bridges being repaired for political gain, and that
is just plain wrong.”
“Senate Democrats will continue to support plans to beef
up dollars for repairing Oklahoma’s crumbling roads and
bridges-but not on the backs of Oklahoma school children,”
he said.
