Vague, multi-billion-dollar plan to build new toll roads across Florida passes Legislature
Despite a plea from one state representative that the Legislature is “just handing over a blank check,” lawmakers approved a multi-billion-dollar toll road plan Wednesday and sent the measure to Gov. Ron DeSantis for approval or veto.
The massive toll road plan (SB 7068)– which critics complained will not go back before the Legislature for approval again before planned construction in 2022 – passed 76-36. Eight representatives did not vote.
“Let’s not greenlight a project without having the facts,” Rep. Bobby Dubose, a Democrat who represents the Fort Lauderdale area, said in fighting the proposal. “I cannot recall a project that we have given such financial latitude in the past. We are essentially just handing over a blank check.”
It is Florida’s largest state highway construction project since the 1950s – a toll road network that would stretch across the state. Only broad corridors, and not specifics, were available for legislators or the public to review. Republicans rejected attempts by Democrats to give locals veto power over where the road corridors would go and resisted attempts to give the broad plan more scrutiny by elected officials. It was a top priority for Republican Florida Senate President Bill Galvano of Bradenton, and passed the state Senate 37-1 last week with no debate.
Read more: https://www.floridaphoenix.com/2019/05/01/vague-multi-billion-dollar-plan-to-build-new-toll-roads-across-florida-passes-legislature/
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