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Senate committee advances bill redirecting $10 million annually to weigh station improvement fund
Summary
The Transportation Committee advanced Senate Bill 122 to deposit the first $10 million of certain permit fees into the Weigh Station Improvement Revolving Fund, prompting questions about apportionments, long-term costs and past sweeps of the fund.
Senator Hastur, a member of the Oklahoma Senate Transportation Committee, told the panel that Senate Bill 122 would direct the first $10,000,000 of collected permit fees into the Weigh Station Improvement Revolving Fund to address a shortfall in weigh station operations and facility upkeep. "When you look at the salaries and the overall operating cost...they only received $2,200,000 towards the basic expense," Hastur said, describing a recurring $4,719,000 baseline operating need.
The measure prompted sustained questioning about where remaining revenue would go and whether the change would reduce transfers to general revenue. Director Gatz of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation told senators the department collected roughly $37,000,000 in permit fees last year and described the fund’s original purpose as covering operations and port-of-entry construction. "The purpose of the weigh station revolving fund when it was initially established was to make sure that there was enough revenue going in to cover the cost of the operation of the weigh stations," Director Gatz said.
Committee members pressed for details on apportionments and whether money would flow back into road maintenance. Senator Stewart asked whether money redirected under the bill would leave a $17,000,000 gap for highway maintenance; Director Gatz and the bill author said some maintenance funding comes from other permit-related distributions not governed by this section. Committee members also raised that ports of entry are aging: Hastur and others cited a $164,000,000 estimated total cost to upgrade weigh stations and ports of entry.
Senator Hastur said the bill aims to build a reserve for repairs and modernization. Senator Brooks and others asked for a written breakdown of prior apportionments and sweeps; Hastur agreed to supply members and Appropriations committee members with that documentation before the bill’s next hearing. The transcript record shows some committee members voiced concern that not all road-maintenance needs are addressed by the bill, and asked that the author and ODOT provide further detail on how funds will be allocated.
The committee voted to advance the bill. The roll call recorded 11 ayes and 1 nay.
