Colorado lawmakers hit early roadblock on finding money for roads

Colorado House Speaker Crisanta Duran on Wednesday came out forcefully against the notion of a “revenue-neutral” transportation tax that would be offset initially by other tax cuts, marking an early impasse in negotiations with Republicans on how to pay for the state’s growing backlog of infrastructure needs.

“I think if you make a revenue-neutral change, what’s the point?” she said during a Wednesday press briefing. “…What’s the point of going forward with a revenue-neutral ballot initiative when we have all these needs related to transportation, specifically?”

Duran also introduced an 800-pound gorilla to the transportation fight, saying that lawmakers can’t address the state’s road funding needs without having a “real conversation” about school finance, something the governor, too, has called for.

With the session now a third of the way through, Duran’s comments were the strongest yet from the Democratic leader from Denver, who until this point had avoided taking any rigid public stances on the issue, insisting that she wants to keep all options on the table.

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/2017/02/08/lawmakers-roadblock-money-for-roads/