What do people here think about Constitutional change

about reallocating car sales tax?

Was in the strib yesterday

http://www.startribune.com/stories/587/5801675.html

Millions of dollars for roads, transit are riding on constitutional change
Laurie Blake, Star Tribune
December 26, 2005

Next year will be a pivotal one for transportation in Minnesota: Voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to guarantee more money for roads and transit.

A statewide coalition of business leaders, road builders, transit advocates and environmentalists is planning a $3 million to $4 million campaign to sell the idea.

Voters will be asked whether all taxes collected from car and truck sales should be spent on roads and transit, just as gas tax revenues and license tab fees are. Currently vehicle sales taxes are split about 50-50 between transportation and other needs.

(snip)

Minnesota is WAY behind the curve when it comes to public transit, and that doesn't mean just buses and light rail in the Twin Cities--it means dial-a-ride services for the elderly and disabled in rural areas. The reason for this backwardness is the lack of a stable funding source for public transit.

Not only the transportation mecca of Portland but also cities such as Salt Lake City, Denver, and Dallas have more ambitious plans on the books than we do.

A fully-developed public transit system does NOT alleviate traffic congestion for those who choose to drive, but it does make not driving a realistic possibility for those who can't or prefer not to drive.

I lived without a car in Portland for ten years without suffering any major inconveniences, because the buses and trains went everywhere with good connections between lines and frequent service (at least every 15 minutes, 7 days a week, 18 hours a day). Even though I have a car now, I tried to do the same here, but it's incredibly difficult, because the system assumes that everyone is going downtown. There are not enough connector lines, and few buses run more often than every 20 minutes, which is too long a gap.

Given the language quoted in the article, roads and transit could still be held hostage to the interests of whomever is in power in the government. And if that means a twelve-lane I35W, then that's what the roads-only people will shoot for.

would be 60% roads, 40% transit.

This will pull money from somewhere else and we all sure as hell know that Feelenty won't fund the loss. He did a smashing job with the cigarette fee.

especially now, when the cigarettes "fee" is found to be illegal.

A recent letter in the strib was talking about "giving back" about $500 million which will pretty much kill whatever surplus we may have now. I don't know whether this point is correct.