Mississippi State Sen. Willie Simmons says legislators in Jackson have balked at raising additional revenue to help repair and replace critical infrastructure because they have not heard from the citizens.
Simmons, who represents Bolivar, Sunflower and Tallahatchie Counties, told The Enterprise-Tocsin last week there is likely less than 50 percent support for raising revenue at the state level, despite calls to do so by local officials across the state, as well as the Mississippi Economic Council.
“We have to say we recognize there is a problem,” Simmons said, moments before he and others dedicated the opening of the B.B. King Memorial Highway at Mississippi Valley State University last week. “We continue to work on it, but we have not found a solution.”
There are currently 22 bridges closed in Sunflower County alone, and in spite of local efforts to fund some bridge repairs, local officials expect that number to rise in the absence of more funding from the state.
Simmons said the state spent $80 million alone repairing a portion of Highway 6 between Batesville and Clarksdale.
Simmons, as well as others, proposes raising the tax on fuel, which he dubs a “user fee.”
“The best way about that is through a user fee,” he said. “Do what Ronald Reagan did and raise the user fee.”
Simmons is likely referring to highway legislation Reagan advocated in the early 1980s in an attempt to pay for infrastructure repairs.
Outside of local and state officials, Simmons says not many are talking about this issue, something he said keeps some lawmakers from committing raising revenue.
“If you ask the average legislator, both senators and representatives, Democrat or Republican, in the Delta or the Gulf Coast, if their citizens have encouraged them to do something about our roads and bridges by raising revenue, and they will tell you they have not heard from the citizens,” Simmons said. “I think it’s (a problem) that will be fixed when we, the citizens, begin to engage our legislators and our leadership and say to them, ‘we want safe bridges. We don’t want a situation where a bridge will collapse. We want good roads so that we don’t have to continue to pay for repairs of our vehicles.’”
The only sign of relief in sight is a commitment by leadership to give $40 million (instead of the usual $20 million) to the Local Systems Bridges Program when the legislature meets again to discuss the issue.. That program was not funded this past year.
Watch our full interview with Simmons at www.enterprise-tocsin.com.
