Toll Road House Vote
Below I will list the legislators voting in favor of wide open toll roads across the state of Tennessee (HB2868 by Pinion). (And to you free marketers out there, this toll road plan still has the taxpayer on the hook. It’s not free market.)
But first, I want to draw your attention to a comment made by Rep. Frank Nicely on the House floor. You can find a bit about it in Eric’s AP article here. Here’s the quote:
Niceley said he’d prefer to see the state withdraw from the federal highway program and keep the gas tax money it currently sends to Washington.
Pinion was dismissive of Niceley’s comments.
“With all due respect to my esteemed colleague from the East, I don’t know if I have any idea what you’re even talking about,” he said.
What? Who is right? Can we opt out? I wanted to know so I called Frank Nicely. We’re going to talk with him about this on air today. But in my conversation with him, he says we send millions more to Washington than we get back. So I asked, does this mean we’re sending it to D.C. and they’re using it to build roads in Wyoming? He said “yes, and now I really like the people in Wyoming. They’re good people. But I don’t want to be in the business of building their roads.” I can agree with that!
Apparently after the dust-up on the House floor where Representative Pinion dismissed Nicely as not knowing what he was talking about, there was some post debate discussion. As it turns out, all were in agreement that Nicely was correct. We can opt out. And by opting out, not only would we have more funds according to Nicely, we’d have no federal strings attached either. That sounds like a plan.
It’s all very interesting. Be sure to tune in for Rep. Nicely’s discussion. I’m eager to get the numbers and report back to you. I’m all for taking care of Tennesseans with the dollars paid in Tennessee. What are the downsides to the idea? We’ll talk about that, too.
Here are the few but brave legislators voting against removing the limits on the number of toll roads in Tennessee (and note, this plan was passed last year as a PILOT project, and now one year later, the following 77 legislators are all gung-ho to just open it up! After one year! Who knew the love between a legislator and a lobbyist could yield such fruit?!?!):
Voting No: Representatives Bell, Campfield, Casada, DuBois, Dunn, Fincher, Hensley, Hill, Matlock, McCord, Moore, Nicely, Windle (13)
Present but Not Voting: Hardaway, Harwell, Hawk (3)
Voting Yes, Go for it, We love toll roads!(like you don’t pay enough taxes already): Armstrong, Baird, Bass, Bibb, Bone, Borchert, Briley, Brooks H, Brown, Buck, Cobb J, Coleman, Coley, Cooper, Crider, Curtis, DeBerry L, Eldridge, Favors, Ferguson, Fitzhugh, Floyd, Ford, Fraley, Gilmore, Gresham, Hackworth, Harmon, Harrison, Hood, Johnson C., Johnson P., Jones S., Kelsey, Kernell, Litz, Lollar, Lundberg, Lynn, Maddox, Maggart, Matheny, McCormic, McDaniel, McDonald, McManus, Miller, Montgomery, Mumpower, Odom, Overbey (of course!), Pinion, Pitts, Pruitt, Richardson, Rinks, Roach, Rowland, Sargent, Shaw, Shepard, Sontany, Swafford, Tidwell, Tindell, Todd, Towns, Turner L., Turner M., Vaughn, Watson, West, Williams, Winningham, Yokley, Mr. Speaker Naifeh (77)
There were several members not even present. I’ll have to go through the list of all the members and see who wasn’t in attendance.
Last year Rep. Philip Pinion (D), Chairman of House Transportation Committee and sponsor of Toll Road legislation, together with his toll road lobbyist girlfriend Velma Jones, gave birth to a bouncing baby toll road pilot project! This year the power couple hopes to have a whole brood of little toll road rascals! (Photo from NewsChannel5 in Nashville)
This might call for a Barry White song or something.
11 Comments so far
Leave a comment
Rinks announced he’s retiring today.
By dan t on 03.26.08 10:45 am
To Contact Jim Hackworth
Jim Hackworth means it when he says, “I’ll Listen to…and Represent Your Views”!
* You can visit with Jim at his district office. During the legislative session please call (865) 603-4225 for an appointment.
* You can reach Jim by email in Nashville at: rep.jim.hackworth@legislature.state.tn.us
* You can reach Jim by email at home: repjimhackworth@yahoo.com
*
You can call Jim at: (865) 457-5266 Home, Local to Nashville at (865) 482-2455
or 1-800-449-8366 ext. 1-4400 in Nashville or his cell phone (865) 603-4225
*
You can Fax Jim at: (615) 741-4322
*
You can reach Jim by postal mail at:
37 Legislative Plaza, Nashville, TN 37242-0133
By Richard on 03.26.08 12:32 pm
What can the ignorant voters of Tennessee expect?
Philly B is a N.E. carpet bagger who wants to bring the same high tax, toll booth mentality in Tenn. as New York and New Jersey.
Selwyn Duke has a piece at etherzone.com although he is incorrect about it being law for the short term.
In another piece, THE FLIGHT OF SMALL BUSINESSES OUT OF NEW JERSEY! We get another glimpse of where Philly B wants to take Tenn a la John Corzine but it’s not businesses but residents.
If they want to have a toll then put up a tollbooth at the bunker ballroom. $1,000 a head for lobbyist access to Philby.
By Rick Forman on 03.26.08 6:29 pm
Dear David:
I very much appreciate your recent e-mail about the toll road bill. House
Bill 2868 did pass the House on Monday night. Senate Bill 3091 is in the
Senate Transportation Committee and scheduled to be heard on April 2nd.
I will do all I can to make sure that particular bill will only pass with my
objections.
Sincerely,
Randy McNally
By Richard on 03.26.08 6:41 pm
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/1852/
By Richard on 03.26.08 6:44 pm
The last message is the site for the Tennessee Liberty Alliance. Come join us. I know it says Ron Paul but all are welcome and needed.
By Richard on 03.26.08 6:46 pm
Richard-
Thanks for all the information. You’re a blessing.
Rick:
Thanks for the heads up on the Selwyn Duke article. We’ve had him on our program a couple of times. I must say, he is without a doubt, one of the brightest individuals with whom I have ever spoken. By the way, if you don’t mind, I added the link to Selwyn’s article in your comment.
By Terry on 03.26.08 8:04 pm
Toll roads are nothing but a way for the inept politico in Nashville to cover-up their misuse of public funds. This needs to be defeated. Join
By Don on 03.26.08 9:34 pm
I am wondering if anyone is investigating the potential fraud, waste and abuse that is going on with this “issue.” It seems to me that the dots are out there for all to see and if there was a sharp enough pencil connected to the right connections to gather the documentation, we might be able to worry about conjugal visits for individuals involved in this one. This did not happen by accident nor is it only for partisan power. This one is all about greed and the betterment of life for them on a personal level.
Yeah, I said it and will stand by it too.
By BCB on 03.29.08 9:56 am
[...] Another item that disturbs me regarding Rep. Pinion’s advocacy for unlimited toll projects in Tennessee is his personal involvement with Velma Jones who is a toll road lobbyist. This smells to high heaven. This information was found at Terry Frank’s site (http://terryfrank.net/?p=3137). You will find the information regarding this association at the end of Terry’s story. Toll Road House Vote [...]
By Bear Creek Ledger » Message to TN Senate Transportation Committee on 04.02.08 8:08 pm
[...] his race against Naifeh Republican Doug Overbey who is challenging him for a seat in the Senate. Overbey voted pro-toll [...]
By terryfrank.net » Toll Road Meeting in Knoxville on 07.15.08 5:48 am
Leave a comment
Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>