NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The dust may have settled on legislative elections and leadership votes, but Republican Gov. Bill Haslam doesn't appear any closer to divulging his plans for boosting transportation funding in Tennessee.
Haslam tells reporters he's meeting with lawmakers and local elected officials to address what he has described as a $6 billion backlog in road projects. Meanwhile, a wide-ranging transit plan for the greater Nashville area alone is projected to cost about $6 billion over the next 25 years.
The governor says the challenge will be to come up with a transportation plan that's equally acceptable to rural and urban residents.
Each penny of the state's 21.4-cent tax on each gallon of gas is worth about $31 million in annual revenue. The tax was last raised by 4 cents in 1989.