Transportation Differences

State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling says she and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca have written a letter to Republicans asking for a joint committee to hash out differences over transportation budgets. She says there have been some ideas, but no long term solutions which is what they are seeking. She says there have been some ideas about generating revenue and removing the minimum markup on gas, but extending a sales tax to gas. She says ultimately some see that as a tax increase and the Governor is unwilling to do that. She says unfortunately recent storms have compounded the problem by damaging our infrastructure. Shilling says towns and villages were unprepared to deal with flooding and road closures and bridge repairs. She says that piles on whatever maintenance we need to do. She says something has to be done differently and better on long-term transportation. She and Barca are proposing they form a joint committee with four Democrats and four Republicans to sit down to hammer out a sustainable long-term solution to transportation.