Governor Steve Bullock says he is undecided on a new policy to fundamentally shift how the state pays for major infrastructure projects. The proposal passed out of the House with no opposition today.
House Democrats joined Republican bill sponsor Eric Moore Thursday to push the so-called Infrastructure Development and Economic Accountability Act over to the Senate before the transmittal deadline this weekend.
But, despite his party backing the bill, Bullock isn’t endorsing it.
Speaking with members of the press, Thursday, he said he needs to see the Republicans' list of projects that could get funded by the new state debt cap outlined in the bill.
"We need to see the entirety of the overall proposals before I can really sign-on to any of it," Bullock said.
Republicans haven’t yet offered details of which specific projects they’d like to fund, but say their bonding proposals could include between $50 - $100 million worth of funding.
That’s less than the $160 million in Governor Bullock’s bonding request.
Specifics of how Republicans would like to see infrastructure dollars spent are expected to roll out when lawmakers return to Helena, following next week’s transmittal break.
