Gubernatorial hopefuls concentrate on roads, bridges, coast

BATON ROUGE (AP) — The four announced candidates for Louisiana governor took part in their first campaign forum Friday, with little conflict and broad agreement that the public has lost faith in the way Louisiana uses gasoline tax money that goes into a Transportation Trust Fund.
A primary target in the forum held before a hotel ballroom full of engineers, contractors and other business people: $60 million in trust fund money the candidates complain has been diverted to state police expenses.
The event featured Public Service Commissioner Scott Angelle, Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne and Sen. David Vitter — all Republicans, and state Rep. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat. All agreed that some or all of the $60 million should go back to the trust fund for road and bridge improvements. And they said other systematic changes are needed to make sure taxes collected at the pump go for the purpose of road and bridge work.
“We’ve got to wean the state police out of the Transportation Trust Fund,” Edwards said at one point in the nearly two-hour forum sponsored by the American Council of Engineering Companies.
However, none of the candidates suggested how to replace the money that would be taken from the state police.
In discussions that also touched on coastal restoration and the overall health of the state budget, the candidates said the state must examine various tax credit and incentive programs to see whether the benefits are worth the costs at a time when the state budget continues to take hits. All agreed that a special legislative session will be required early in 2016 to address state budget reforms. Dardenne lamented that the Legislature, in an election year, is unlikely to deal with the issues.
While nobody made a specific call for tax increases, they alluded to the need for more revenue for highways and infrastructure and said the public won’t support any plan unless reforms are made.
“This will be a non-starter with the public unless we restore trust in the Transportation Trust Fund first,” Vitter said as he discussed his proposal to develop a high-priority highway building plan.
There was little to separate individual candidates from the pack. Edwards was the only one to address a controversial lawsuit filed by a south Louisiana flood board against oil and gas companies blamed for coastal damage. Edwards said he opposed legislation — approved in the last session and now tied up in court battles — that was designed to kill the lawsuit. He said the potential revenue from the lawsuit is badly needed to fund a coastal restoration plan estimated to cost at least $50 billion over 50 years.
Angelle was alone in calling for new toll roads to relieve congestion while maintaining existing roads to provide motorists with non-toll alternatives.
The tone at the forum was often light. After Vitter recounted his efforts in Washington to help the state, Dardenne quipped: “That’s why we want you to stay.”
“I second the motion by chairman Dardenne,” added Angelle.