West Virginia Governor Early Ray Tomblin has set up a blue-ribbon commission to come up with recommendations for transportation funding in the Mountain State. Those of us who are veterans of blue-ribbon commissions know that many start out with high hopes but fewer succeed in really making strong recommendations and far fewer get results in the legislature. But it is important work and should be done right.
The WV commission starts out right by avoiding the worst pitfall – ruling out gas tax increases.
The make-up of the commission is suitably broad, but has some notable gaps. There is no representation from the transit, environmental, MPO, or public interest communities. All too many governor’s offices do this – presumably to avoid annoying the highway interests – but these omissions weaken both the process and the product. Hopefully more people can be brought on to the team.
Good luck, West Virginia!
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