NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee has a $26 billion problem. Last year, that's how much TDOT leaders estimate it would take to alleviate traffic congestion on our interstates. Here's the thing — the state doesn't have that much money just sitting around.
Some Tennessee lawmakers appear to agree that TDOT deserves more funding.
"Tennesseans deserve better roads," said Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Democrat from Nashville, during a scheduled news conference. "Tennessee roads consistently rank as some of the worst in the southeast."
"Tennessee has had such incredible growth, we have not been able to keep up with the new growth of our infrastructure," said Sen. Mark Pody, a Republican from Lebanon, in an interview with NewsChannel 5.
Where lawmakers seem to be tapping the brakes, is how to pay for it.
"One such way to fix our roads is to end the pay as you go funding mechanism," said Rep. Behn.
Tennessee is one of six states in the country that does a "Pay As You Go" model for road funding. Essentially, that means that the state does not borrow money for road construction. The state only spends what lawmakers put in the yearly budget.
Democrats think, that's really holding the state back when it comes to expanding lanes and fixing potholes.
"They like to brag about our AAA bond rating, right? And they like to talk about how fiscally responsible we are. But it’s not fiscally responsible to have a pay as you go model that doesn’t take advantage of that," said Rep. John Ray Clemmons, a Nashville Democrat.
Tennessee Republicans have argued they don't want their debt to climb as high as Tennessee's Capitol Hill, which is why the state's philosophy has remained "Pay As You Go" for nearly 50 years.
"If we’re going to be spending money on our roads, spend 100% of that money on roads, not on interest payments that we’ve got to deal with later," explained Sen. Pody.
That's why Pody wants to stick with "Pay As You Go," but he's developed his own plan to add $1 billion to TDOT's annual budget. Pody is proposing that taxes from automotive and wheel taxes go exclusively to TDOT. He also wants TDOT's administrative costs to be covered under the General Services budget. With those two moves, TDOT would receive about $2 billion from the State of Tennessee and $1 billion from the federal government.
But to make all of those budgetary moves, it would require major cuts to other state departments. Pody says that's where he's run into some opposition from fellow Republicans.
"What is it we’re going to be cutting going forward, if that money is not going into the general fund? What is it that we’re willing to do? And that’s where the rub kind of comes in -- saying what are our priorities?" asked Pody.
Or there's the status quo, which means Tennessee would only have about $500 million each year, to spend on road projects. Right now, Republicans hope TDOT's new choice lanes, that are toll lanes still very early in development, can also add some revenue to TDOT's operating budget. Democrats seem to think that's a road to disaster.
"This isn’t about spending, this is about investing. This is about investing in working Tennesseans and infrastructure that’s necessarily to keep up with our growth," said Rep. Clemmons.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@newschannel5.com.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
