Lawmakers Consider Using Trust Fund for Transportation Projects

Lawmakers in Alabama are considering a plan to withdraw $1 billion from a state investment fund to pay for road and transportation projects in the state. It's a move proponents say will create jobs, but opponents worry about diverting those funds.

1 minute read

January 20, 2010, 10:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


"[T]he plan, Senate Bill 121, would generate thousands of jobs without raising taxes and pay for improving roads and bridges across the state, aiding safety and boosting commerce. 'Every citizen benefits from this bill,' Sen. Lowell Barron said.

But Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said Republicans likely would ask lots of questions, especially on the wisdom of taking money from an investment account that generates earnings to support Medicaid, prisons, public health and other non-education state services."

If approved, the plan will ask voters in November to approve 10 annual deductions of $100 million from the Alabama Trust Fund.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 in The Birmingham News

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