The unsuccessful wrangling in the Arkansas General Assembly over how to finance highway needs in the state reflects ongoing, decades-old battles.
If state legislators are in regular session you can safely bet they will be arguing how to pay for needed highway maintenance and construction.
This session's battle was over a proposal to put on the ballot a 20-year bond issue to potentially raise $200 million.
That bill was defeated by Republican opposition to an accompanying measure to raise gas and diesel tax taxes to pay for the bonds. That 6.5 percent sales tax increase on the fuels' wholesale prices would have had to have been approved by voters.
As reported by Associated Press political writer Andrew DeMillo, one of the groups opposing the bill, Americans for Prosperity, argued it was a tax increase in a state already overtaxed.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, DeMillo reported, argued in favor of putting the measure on the ballot, saying, "I can't think of any good arguments against referring to the people an opportunity to vote on a highway plan in a general election. The voters can vote it up or down, but it's their decision."
While we're not exactly enthusiastic about paying more taxes, we do find ourselves agreeing with the governor. If the majority of voting Arkansans say yes to higher fuel taxes to keep our roads from crumbling, so be it. If the majority vote no against a new tax, then it's back to the drawing board.
It might be a good idea to go back to the drawing board in any case.
Is battling General Assembly after General Assembly the best way to extend the life of our highways well into the future? Apparently not, if the future of our roads depends on the whims of our elected officials.
We're not saying we've got an answer to that problem, but we do have an idea. Maybe it's time the idea of toll roads is again considered. A modest toll on a major highway might be a minor inconvenience, but wouldn't that provide at least some revenue in a continuing stream that could be depended on year after year, regardless of whether lawmakers are able to reach agreements?