VIDEO: Senator Hertel Floor Speech on Road Funding
The hardest vote any of us take in this chamber should be a vote to raise taxes.
Going to people who are already hurting and putting our hands out for money isn’t supposed to be easy.
I was ready to make that vote with a long-term, sustainable plan that would fix our roads. Unfortunately, that is not the choice before us today.
The people are tired of paying more and getting less from their government.
That is exactly what this plan does.
And to do that without even coming close to fixing the problem is an insult to the people we represent.
This is the prime example of how term limits have failed our state. Legislature after legislature not solving the problems that face this great state.
These bills rely on cuts to be determined by future legislators but don’t say where those cuts are coming from.
You are once again just kicking the can further down the crumbling road.
You are voting to raise taxes to keep the roads exactly as they are: poorly maintained and riddled with potholes.
By 2021 when this bill is fully implemented, 50 percent of the roads will already be in poor condition.
College tuition will go up, our schools will continue to be underfunded, people will be paying more and getting less, and we still will not have fixed our roads.
Let’s send a message to our leaders.
I implore you to reject this plan and force our leadership back to the table.
Don’t raise taxes just so that we can say we did something.