Monday, February 19, 2018

Reeves unveils billion dollar infrastructure plan.

UPDATE: The bill, SB# 3046, is posted below. 

Lieutenant Governor Tate Reeves issued the following statement.  



Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves today announced a more than $1 billion plan to repair roads and bridges across the state, as well as meet other infrastructure needs, without raising taxes.
The BRIDGE Act will provide a mixture of grants, loans and revenue to cities, counties and state agencies for infrastructure projects over a five-year period. BRIDGE stands for "Building Roads. Improving Development. Growing the Economy." The Senate plan utilizes many concepts developed and supported by local mayors, supervisors, senators and bills passed by the House of Representatives.
"The BRIDGE Act addresses the needs of our state without raising anybody's taxes," Lt. Gov. Reeves said. "Building and maintaining infrastructure is a core function of government. We've developed a responsible plan that balances the needs of our local governments and the marketplace."
Finance Chairman Sen. Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, and Transportation Chairman Sen. Willie Simmons, D-Cleveland, helped shape the comprehensive proposal to meet critical needs.
"A strong economy requires an investment in all types of infrastructure," Sen. Fillingane said. "The BRIDGE Act can help our communities complete projects that keep products moving across our state and nation. That is good for Mississippi businesses."
The Act also provides funds for economically distressed areas, including the Delta, to spur economic growth.
"We recognize the needs in Mississippi go beyond roads and bridges," Sen. Simmons said. "The BRIDGE Act will help our cities and our rural areas fix their critical needs whether that means reopening a closed bridge or repairing broken water and sewer lines. This is a positive plan that doesn't ignore the needs of our rural areas, like the Mississippi Delta."
BRIDGE includes funding for the local system bridge program, railroad improvements, repairing water and sewer systems, and dam maintenance.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Devil is in the Details! You don't just pull a billion out of thin air.

Anonymous said...

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit.

Anonymous said...

1:45 PM Agreed!

Might "BRIDGE" also stand for would stand for "Bridges and Roads Insure Dumba** Gets Elected"

Anonymous said...

This will get Tate elected ...

Bradley4982 said...

Will have to get passed first and claims not a tax increase but will have to pay back bonds. Lets just go into debt to fix the roads and bridges.

Anonymous said...

2:31, Bonds are an appropriate funding source for major infrastructure projects, such as roads and bridges, that have a long-term use -- as opposed to the old school bonding concept of issuing 20 year bonds for roof repairs that would last less than 10 years; or repairing mechanical systems that had a life cycle of less than 10 years. Unlike the federal government that uses PAYGO for all its infrastructure spending because it has only to print more money, states can't spend what they don't have but are allowed to borrow. Just like most people don't buy their houses out of operating cash, the state shouldn't build new bridges or roads with annual income. What's your bitch about this program, unless it is that you just don't like Tater?

Bradley4982 said...

do you even have and idea the life cycle of roads yes bonds will work for bridges that have a longer life cycle. But to your point of 20 year bonds for a 10 year roof. Same principle 20 year bond for a 10 year road.

Anonymous said...

I have the bill in hand will read over the next two days and will see if it is just a ploy to get elected or if it has real funding in it or not.

Anonymous said...

GTFOH Tateroni with your Bobby Jindal/Sam Brownback hoodoo voodoo economics!

Anonymous said...

Bradley Barns - resurfacing roads is a 10 year project lifespan, but rebuilding or new construction of roads is a long term project. As are water and sewer projects - also included in this funding proposal. Can you point to which part of the $1.1B that you think is not appropriate for bond (debt) funding, since you were the one that raised the issue of 'going into debt' to fix the roads and bridges?

Anonymous said...

I don’t have a problem with bonds for building new roads and sewer projects. But issuing 25 year bonds for repacking a road that’s life span is 10-15 years is it a feasible option and putting the ms economic development in charge of the funds is not a good idea and bill also creates a commission of who says what gets fixed and not even including the asphalt asossiation or the road builders is not smart what does the ms poultry association know about fixing roads and bridges. This is just a plan to get Tate elected gov plane and simple.

Anonymous said...

Hinds issued 15 year bonds for paving projects and trust me, they get every bit of 15 years and more out of their paving. More like 20+

If the bond life does not exceed the project life, it makes good financial sense. You don’t pay cash for long life projects like that. You would never have the cash.

Anonymous said...

A pipe dream built upon wishes of extra state revenue that will not materialize. Please give me a new order of tater tots because mine have become stale and soggy.

Anonymous said...

651, what in the hell are you talking about. There is no "ms economic development" involved. And the Poultry Assn has no role in this process either. And for what it's worth, the Asphalt Assn nor the Road Builders Assn are in charge either - just as the Hospital Assn should NOT be in charge of Medicaid spending.

Maybe, just maybe, you meant the Miss Development Authority (MDA) - a state agency. Thanks for entertaining us though with your "insightful" commentary.

Anonymous said...

Let Tater have his way, the important thing is to get the ball rolling. Hopefully we will finally start performing on the level of the national economy. Either way given the tax breaks given to business and industry we still have to pay for it through taxes at the city or county level.

Anonymous said...

More of Kim Jong-un, uhhh, I mean TATE REEVES’ BULL$HIT! If it comes from him, I wouldn’t believe it.

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of 'repacking' a road.

Anonymous said...

Correct, you don’t want the contractors and suppliers on the board to oversee any spending. It’s like the Fox watching over the henhouse.

Anonymous said...

If any of you need more information or local expertise regarding floating 20 year bonds for ten year roads, please see either David Bishup or Geraldo Steenus up in Madison County.

Call and leave your number and one of them will send you a packet of information on exactly how to proceed. Mention 'election asphalt' and you'll get a free ball point pen too.

Anonymous said...

Big difference between building and paving. The bond money in this bill is for building not paving, which means the life of the projects funded is way longer than the borrowing term.

Anonymous said...

Give Reeves credit if this is successful just as he'll rightfully own all the blame if it is not.

Unknown said...

I must give Reeves credit for moving away from his previous, apparently "do nothing stand. This looks palatable only because folks dying from thirst will drinkmotor oil (respects to James Bond).

However, as is becoming more usual, this was more of a press release rather than a solution. A good portion of future finds will come from diverting "rainy day" surpluses. From recent past experience this fund has been used to cover deficits, even after drastic cuts. In my opinion, this balancing the budget is a proper use of rainy day funds.

However, moving forward, once the current rainy day fund surplus is exhausted the last ten years of tax cuts to corporation, out of state corporations on the most part, will make it very difficult to replenish the rainy day fund from income surpluses.

I guess the plan will be, in my opinion, to continue to replenish the rainy day fund for infrastructure, by further General Fund cuts to Medicaid and education (the largest items in the state's budget).

What is happening< all across America< is the transferring of the tax burden to the less than wealthy (commonly called the poor and middle class) from the corporations and the wealthy.

Ye,. yes, yes, poor folks don't pay a lot of, if any, income tax but they all pay increased sales taxes on necessities. Higher sales tax equals fewer loaves of bread.

Also, the elderly, and their families (in the for of reduced nursing and home care Federal and state subsidies), the poor (again in the form of increased sales taxes on necessities), the middle class and children (in the form of reduced education funding) will have services cut or even eliminated in order to subsidize the wealthy and corporations.

Smoke and mirrors, mirrors and smoke

Anonymous said...

Frank, provide us with your definition of "middle class"? Please augment your response with some defined income levels. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

@3:35 pm.....why, so the whole state can end up like the Dim-O-Krat utopia Jackson has become?????

I bet if Jackson didn't have to spend so much money for "Crime Scene" tape, they might be able to fix the roads and water lines.

Anonymous said...

HEYYYY, LET'S RAISE TAXES ON PEOPLE FOR ROADS.

HEYYYY, DON'T TAKE OUT BONDS FOR ROADS.


I LOVE LAMP!

Signed,

Primate

Unknown said...

@10:27

Division of class in this country is pretty simple in my opinion.

1. Poor or lower economic class. Usually pay no Federal Income Tax. Some get money from the Feds called EITC or Earned Income Tax Credit.

3. Wealthy. IRS has published that approximately 2500 families control 60% of the voting stock in the stock market.

2. Middle class are those between the poor and the wealthy.

Simple enough eh?

Where do you think you fit in my simplified model?

Anonymous said...

Anybody that this is a great plan must have voted for Trump.

Anonymous said...

Let me simplify it for you Frank. How about a fill in the blank?
Frank said: Everyone making over $[blank] in earned income a year is "wealthy".

What is *the least amount* of annual earned income $$$ that you would consider wealthy? Can you fill in the blank Frank?

Anonymous said...

@10:06 here is a break down of who is in charge of the emergency bridge fund in bill.
The State Aid Road Engineer, a top official at a state agency that helps fund county bridge repairs, would provide a list of the most needed projects to a newly formed board, which would make recommendations to the governor.

The new board would be made up of representatives from some of the most powerful, privately-owned special interest groups in the state: Mississippi Economic Council, Mississippi Manufacturing Association, Mississippi Poultry Association, Farm Bureau, Mississippi Trucking Association, Mississippi Association of Supervisors and the Mississippi Municipal League. It also puts about 600 million I controle if the governor. Tate thinks he is going to win so why Bonn put himself in charge is most of the money. This is just a press release to get Tate elected because there was a straw pole taken and he only got a 4th of support behind hood Hosemann and Harper.

Unknown said...

@5:53

Boy you just don't want to get it do you? The wealth disparity in this country, and for that matter, the world, is huge. The top 1% (actually a lot less than 1%) of our nation's earners (including active and passive earnings/income), along with the corporations (actually the same crowd) got 80% of the benefit of the recent tax cut.

But continuing to humor you, I offer the following from Chris Rock; paraphrasing here.

I, Chris Rock am rich.

My relative are not rich, but I help them where I can.

The top "less than 1%", including those like the Rockefeller's, Walton's (WalMart), Johnson's (Johnson and Johnson pharmaceuticals and consumer products), Koch's (many industrial assets), Buffets's (Berkshire Hathaway), etc. are wealthy.

Neither they, nor their immediate family, nor their, children, nor their children's children will ever have to work. They derive their income from the proceeds of their money making more money.

I give you that Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway, has a widely publicized policy (see 60 Minutes TV Report on YouTube), of not allowing his relatives, including his children, to not work and live off of his money. He expects them to earn a living on their own and not live off of his money.

Buffet says that before and when he dies he plans to give most of it away. But as Andrew Carnegie famously says, I can't give it away fast enough!, The money just keeps rolling in! In fact Buffet gave billions of dollars to Bill Gates' foundation, for the foundation to give it away!

Now American's famously and to their credit in my opinion, do not begrudge the wealthy and their wealth. That's the American dream.

American's recognize the sacrifice, perseverance, genius, hard work, "stick to it-tiveness", commitment that American INDIVIDUALS, working as entrepreneurs and criminals (Behind the maintenance of a great fortune is a great crime)invest in accumulating their wealth.

However, as James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, several of our revered "Founders" famously warned:

The biggest threat to our democratic republic will be INHERITED WEALTH, such as they saw in the monarchies of England and Europe
Moving forward to today's America, it is becoming more and more apparent to the THINKERS in the "less than wealthy" among us, that when the wealthy do not in turn contribute back to the country, in the form of taxes,

1. Our infrastructure falls apart,
2. People die or lead less that quality lives due to poor health,
3. Our children are not educated to the extent we need them to be for the continued success of our country, and
4. Our environment deteriorates to the point that it might not be able to continue to sustain human life.

People who do not see these things happening in our country, and the world for that matter, can be described as DRONES. Just living day to day. Only responding to their immediate, crises, needs, and comfort. DRONES are unable to see the freight train of disaster loudly bearing down on them. The impending train wreck will effect, if not kill, us all!.

Us all means you, and me, and our family, and our children, and our children's children.

The good news is that we don't need ALL of the drones to avoid this disaster. We only need a much smaller, but critical mass of thinkers and doers.

So @5:37 we already know that you are a coward as evidenced by your hiding behind anonymity on this blog.

However, the real and most important question is: Are you a "drone" or a "thinking doer"?

Anonymous said...

If you liked Obama Care you are going to love the Tater BRIDGE Act.

Anonymous said...

So Tater wants a bill that gives total control over some, millions of dollars, of the transportation budet to the governor to spend at his sole discretion...oh and he's running for governor....seems a little sketchy.

Anonymous said...

Does this mean we will not have to watch any more of those Public Service Announcements starring the public service commissioners that are only shown when they are running for reelection? Just get rid of them, they do NOTHING to improve this state and spend our money for virtually nothing except the preservation of their inflated salaries and expense accounts.


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