GARVEE debate: ‘We need those jobs,’ ‘Very serious debt,’ ‘So close to done’

As the House debates the $162 million GARVEE bonding proposal, HB 285, there’s been plenty of debate so far on both sides. The bill would fund the remainder of the last two bonded projects: The Garwood-to-Sagle project on U.S. Highway 95 in North Idaho, and the state Highway 16 project in the Treasure Valley, connecting I-84 to State Highway 44. Rep. Carlos Bilbao, R-Emmett, said the latter project is “essential to these communities: Meridian, Nampa, Star, Eagle and Emmett. Emmett is at the end.” He said, “Are we going to take a step back and say no, and stop economic development in one part of our state. I say no. I say what we need to do is forge ahead. … There’s only 17,000 of us in Gem County, and we need those jobs.”

The final installment of the bonding would go entirely to construction - the Highway 95 project is ready to go, and construction will start this spring if the bill passes, said Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover; the Highway 16 project is ready for construction by fall. He noted that all the preliminary work on the two projects, from design to right-of-way acquisition, already has been funded. “If we did not approve this $162 million, then some of this money would be lost and would be gone and would have been wasted,” he told the House. “This is for construction. … It’s going to provide employment as well as improvements on the highway system.”

Rep. Leon Smith, R-Twin Falls, the new chairman of the House Transportation Committee and a longtime opponent of the bonding program, spoke out against it.  “This accelerating debt by the state is getting to be very, very serious at this point,” he said. “It’s loved by representatives that have a project in the area, they always love this. And it’s loved by ITD because it allows them to build projects. … Is this a time to increase our debt this substantial amount, $162 million?”

GARVEE bonds are a special type of financing approved by Congress to allow states to borrow against their future federal highway allocations; former Gov. Dirk Kempthorne pushed lawmakers to enact the multi-year plan, dubbed “Connecting Idaho,” to do major highway projects sooner by use of the bonds. Rep. Stephen Hartgen, R-Twin Falls, said, “I think it’s time to say that these projects should come to an end.” Rep. Bill Killen, D-Boise, said, “I don’t think now is the time to pull the plug, when we’re so close to completing the program.”