Republican state lawmakers propose transportation 'lockbox'

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Republican state lawmakers propose a constitutional lockbox to protect transportation revenue for road and bridge needs.<br/><br/>The idea is to prevent the Legislature from spending

Friday, April 15th 2005, 6:20 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Republican state lawmakers propose a constitutional lockbox to protect transportation revenue for road and bridge needs.

The idea is to prevent the Legislature from spending the money on other projects.

The proposal is a companion measure to a transportation funding bill proposed by the state House's GOP caucus. That bill eventually would raise $170-million for Oklahoma's road and bridge construction and maintenance program without raising taxes. The measure is pending in the state Senate.

The lockbox bill calls for a statewide vote of the people to dedicate a portion of motor vehicle tag revenue that is currently deposited into the state's general fund each year.

About half of the $600-million in motor vehicle tag revenue raised each year is dedicated to schools, counties and cities. The rest -- about $270-million -- is spent on non-transportation needs.