West Virginia Gov. Justice signs landmark bill raising funds for highways

A day after announcing he would let the “travesty” of the $4.225 billion state budget bill become law without his signature, Gov. Jim Justice returned to the governor’s reception room Thursday under happier circumstances, to sign what he called “landmark” legislation to raise about $140 million a year for highways construction (Senate Bill 1006).

“It’s a truly monumental day, and that’s all there is to it,” a noticeably more upbeat Justice said Thursday. “It’s nice to think about putting a whole lot of orange barrels out there.”

The legislation is part of a three-pronged effort to issue up to $2.8 billion in bonds to fund Justice’s road-building initiative, which he has said will stimulate the state economy by creating thousands of construction jobs.

State voters will decide in an Oct. 7 referendum whether to authorize the sale of general obligation bonds that would be paid off using revenue from the increase in gas taxes and Division of Motor Vehicle fees that will go into effect July 1 under the new legislation, according to Nick Casey, Justice’s chief of staff.

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