Perry Adds Road Funding To Special Session
AUSTIN (AP) - Gov. Rick Perry has added funding for transportation to the special session, with only two weeks left to go.
In a statement he released Monday, Perry said the state's growing economy and population made additional spending on roads and bridges necessary.
In January, Perry called on the Legislature to take money from the state's rainy day fund for highways, but they failed to pass the legislation. But lawmakers did agree to ask voters to approve $2 billion for water projects.
State transportation leaders have told lawmakers Texas needs to spend about $4 billion more per year on roads.
The Texas Department of Transportation manages nearly 200 million miles of roads and more than 50,000 bridges. The agency largely relies on a 20-cents-a-gallon fuel tax that hasn't been raised since 1991.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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