Steve Burns
WMAL.com
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – (WMAL) Maryland Governor Larry Hogan is asking for the repeal of a law he says would kill the vast majority of high-priority road projects across the state by creating a scoring system to evaluate potential projects. Hogan calls the law “draconian,” while supporters maintain the law is meant to bring transparency and objectivity to the funding process.
“I immediately vetoed this misguided legislation, which will literally kill more than 90 percent of the majority of the major priority transportation projects in every single jurisdiction all across the state,” Hogan said Wednesday morning. His veto was overridden in the General Assembly. “These are the most desperately-needed transportation projects in the state. They are strongly supported by every single local government, and more importantly, by the overwhelming majority of Marylanders.”
Hogan said he will submit emergency legislation to repeal the law, noting legislators have delayed implementation of it past the original date of January 1, 2017.
“Most legislators had no idea what they were voting on,” Hogan said.
“Yes, I did know what I was voting on,” State Senator Rich Madaleno (D-Kensington) told WMAL. “(Hogan) wants the checkbook and he wants to be able to write checks to whomever he wants.”
Madaleno maintains the law wouldn’t kill nearly as many projects as the Governor listed in his news conference, including improvements to I-270, the Beltway, Suitland Parkway and Georgia Avenue.
“I don’t see how you get from the text of the law to where he is without simply wanting to create a political fight,” Madaleno said. “This is the Governor playing a game.”
The bill forces potential projects to go through an evaluation and scoring system, and for the results to be made public, before a project is approved for funding. Madaleno noted similar legislation was passed by Republicans in Virginia.
“What we’re just trying to ask for is, ‘How do each one of these decisions make sense within our state’s transportation goals?'”
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