State legislative Republican leaders today unveiled a counteroffer to Democrats’ plan to pump hundreds of millions into road and bridge projects and said Democrats must compromise on their plan in order to get it through the legislature.
The announcement came just hours before the Democrats’ plan — Senate Bill 108, known around the Capitol as FASTER — was scheduled for its first committee hearing.
The Republican leaders said GOP lawmakers do not support FASTER in its current form, and they expected the three Republicans on the seven-member Senate Transportation Committee to vote against it this afternoon.
“The Democrats frankly need some support on this,” said Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, R-Grand Junction, “and we’re not going to give it to them willy-nilly. What we want is big, meaningful tax reform.”
FASTER, probably the most significant bill introduced so far this session, would raise more than $200 million annually for road and bridge construction and repair projects by increasing annual vehicle-registration fees and rental-car fees. The registration fees that an average driver pays would increase by $32 in the first year and by another $9 the year after.
The Republican plan would “significantly” pare the proposed annual vehicle-registration fee increase in the Democrats’ plan, although the actual amount in the Republican plan has yet to be settled on, Penry said.
Read more on this story, including how the GOP plan would direct general-fund dollars to transportation projects and a point-by-point comparison between the GOP and FASTER plans, at .
