West Virginia legislators who believe tackling the State Road Fund's serious fiscal shortcomings can wait until a new federal "bailout" package becomes a reality are taking a wrong turn.
President-elect Barack Obama and some leaders in Congress are discussing what amounts to a bailout for state governments. It would be part of a $775 billion package intended by Obama to stimulate the economy. About $475 billion of that would be earmarked for infrastructure projects by local and state governments.
Mountain State officials have known for years that the State Road Fund was not receiving enough revenue to meet the needs for highway and bridge repairs and new construction.
But during a meeting in Charleston on Monday, some legislators suggested that consideration of the problem can be put on the back burner until more is known about the Obama plan. State Sen. Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, told those at the meeting, "All states are holding back on what they're going to do" in regard to infrastructure spending. Helmick, chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee, has substantial influence over money decisions in Charleston.
Indeed, the Obama plan may result in some funding for West Virginia roads and bridges. But that will be a one-time thing - and it probably will be several months before anyone knows how much, if anything, flows to Charleston.
The State Road Fund's shortcomings will not be remedied by any infrastructure program from Congress - unless it provides a permanent source of new money for the states. No one in Washington is discussing any such thing.
State leaders already have begun to discuss ways to get the road fund back on the straight and narrow, so to speak. They should continue investigating the problem intensively - and without a break of several months while they wait for Obama and Congress. The only place in which the issue can be addressed effectively is in Charleston - and the longer state officials wait to make the hard choices needed, the more difficult it will be to implement solutions.