Polo Rocha:

When Wisconsin voters go to the polls this fall, they won’t just vote for candidates. They’ll also vote for a change to the state’s constitution. The constitutional amendment on the ballot would protect the state’s transportation fund. That means if the state ever needs more money to pay for education or health care or prisons, it can’t take the money from the transportation fund.

Craig Thompson:

This is just saying the transportation dollars should be used for transportation purposes.

Polo Rocha:

Craig Thompson heads the Wisconsin Transportation Development Association.

Craig Thompson:

In Wisconsin, we have a multimodal transportation fund, so mass transit, our ports, our airports, our bike paths, all of that is in the transportation fund, which would be protected by this.

Polo Rocha:

Wisconsin’s main general fund consists largely of income and sales taxes, and it pays for items like education, universities or health care. But a separate transportation fund holds revenues from things like gas taxes and registration fees, with much of that money going toward highways and roads. When the state came up short in the general fund, Governor Jim Doyle filled the budget hole with transportation money. Doyle and lawmakers from both parties transferred $1.4 billion in transportation money to the state’s general fund during his time in office. Representative Robb Kahl was the mayor of Monona at the time.

Robb Kahl:

We stole it. We stole it from the taxpayers who thought when they were paying at the pump, paying the registration fee, it was going to go to maintain the infrastructure in our state.

Keith Ripp:

People are told or they assume that when they pay their gas tax and registration fees that those dollars are going into the transportation fund and they will be used for that purpose. When the fund is raided or funds are transferred, that takes away from, basically, road maintenance and rebuilding the roads.

Polo Rocha:

The constitutional amendment is on the ballot because it passed two consecutive sessions of the state legislature. If voters approve it this fall, Wisconsin would join 28 states with a similar amendment in their constitution. When the amendment was up for debate in the legislature, Senator Fred Risser voted against it because he said it ties the legislature’s hands.

Fred Risser:

You say, this money cannot be used for any other purpose under any circumstances. What about the future? The future may develop a situation where we need money for education, which I think is as important if not more important than highways. We may need money for safety. There may be an emergency. You’re setting up a guaranteed fund for one special interest group, the highway lobby.

Polo Rocha:

Risser also says the amendment won’t solve the state’s long-term transportation funding problems. The fund is running short on money, largely because the state is collecting less in gas taxes. The state’s gas tax hasn’t increased since 2006, and it’s no longer indexed for inflation. That, combined with people driving less and more fuel efficient cars, has dried up some revenues for the transportation fund. Keith Ripp chairs the assembly’s transportation committee.

Keith Ripp:

We know that we have to do something. Doing nothing isn’t really an alternative.

Polo Rocha:

A bipartisan commission last year called for a gas tax increase and an increase in registration fees. But Republicans shot those ideas down right away. Representative Kahl thinks approving the amendment will help Republicans come around to the idea of raising taxes and fees.

Robb Kahl:

We need to get this first step done in my opinion, because without it you’re still going to have the naysayers around here and people that will push back saying, I’m not talking about any additional revenue sources for transportation because you guys will just use it for something else. Which has been the case, to the tune of $1.4 billion.

Polo Rocha:

Ripp said, everything is on the table when lawmakers come back in session next year.

Keith Ripp:

That’s our starting point is let’s protect the fund and then I think from there it goes to a bigger discussion.

Polo Rocha:

But Risser still maintains the amendment will take away flexibility that lawmakers have on spending decisions.

Fred Risser:

I don’t think that we should segregate any money for any particular purpose. I think that the legislature should determine what the needs of the state are and meet those needs.