Fate of Toll Road lease plan still up in air

March 14 is the end of the regular session.

Associated Press | March 1, 2006
By Mike Smith

INDIANAPOLIS — There was growing speculation Wednesday on whether Republicans who control the House and Senate could strike a compromise on Gov. Mitch Daniels’ highway plan by a March 14 deadline for adjourning the regular session.

Senate Republicans made a few more changes to their draft of legislation that, among other things, would allow the GOP governor to lease the Indiana Toll Road to a private, foreign consortium for $3.85 billion in order to fund numerous highway projects. They also turned back several attempts by Senate Democrats to change the bill.

The Senate, where Republicans have a 33-17 majority, was expected to vote on the overall bill today. Only one Democrat in either chamber, Sen. Glenn Howard of Indianapolis, has publicly endorsed the legislation and toll road lease.

That means it would take at least 25 of 33 Senate Republicans to join Howard to pass the bill. Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton told reporters Wednesday that they could count on some Republicans voting against the plan.

Regardless of whether the bill wins the Senate’s approval, the legislation seems destined for a House-Senate conference committee where compromises would be sought. But some lawmakers, including Senate Tax Chairman Luke Kenley, say differences between the administration and among Republican legislators could force a legislative overtime.

Those differences include authority Daniels wants to make future public-private tollway projects, checks on such power sought by Senate Republicans, and provisions related to the seven northern Indiana toll road counties and the planned extension of Interstate 69 through southern Indiana.

“Being able to resolve all three or four or five issues in the next two to three weeks looks like a problematic exercise,” said Kenley, R-Noblesville.

Garton said he hoped a special session would not be needed, but he did not rule it out.

Rep. Randy Borror, R-Fort Wayne, the bill’s sponsor in the House, said it was premature to talk about a special session.

A Senate committee made several changes to the bill last week, including ones the GOP-controlled House added in order to appease some of their northern Indiana members and nudge the bill to passage along a 52-47 party line vote.

Among other things, the committee removed a 10-year freeze on fee increases for toll-road county residents. Senators replaced it with a provision that would give tax credits to help offset a portion of tolls paid by all Indiana residents who use the highway.

Another revision would require Daniels to obtain legislative approval before he could make any additional highways or bridges tollways.

Daniels wants to make the planned extension of I-69 a tollway and lease it, something he could have done on his own under the House-passed bill. Some Republicans in southern Indiana support that idea, saying it would jump-start construction of the highway.

The Senate approved a few changes to its version of the bill Tuesday. One would require that $15 million from the $3.85 billion toll road lease payment be spent on upgrades to the Gary/Chicago airport. As the bill stands, 34 percent of proceeds from the toll road lease would go to toll road counties.

Senate Republicans rejected several Democrat amendments, including one proponents said could generate $1.5 billion for highway projects by using toll road revenue to back bonds. Sen. Vi Simpson, D-Bloomington, said it was just one alternative to help pay for projects without leasing the toll road.

Last modified March 1, 2006