Reaction to Gov. Haley’s roads plan is mixed: A good start or not workable?
‘A good starting point’
“It’s a good offer, a good starting point, and I look forward to working with her. I agree with her on all three points of the plan. We need to tweak it a little bit to make it to where we can pass it, but it’s a good first start. The heaviest lift would probably be the (Transportation Department) restructuring and how to do it.”
— Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee
‘Fixing our ... roads ... tremendously important’
“Education reform and infrastructure repairs are two of the most challenging economic issues we face. ... Fixing our crumbling roads system is also tremendously important as it directly impacts economic development, which leads to job creation and higher wages.”
— House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington
‘Drop in the bucket’
“It’s just a drop in the bucket to solving the problem. ... There’s many ways to do it, but this is just not going to deal with the real magnitude of the problem that we have.”
— Senate Minority Leader Nikki Setzler, D-Lexington
‘We will work with her’
— Assistant Majority Leader Gary Simrill, R-York, chairman of the House transportation committee
‘That is not a plan’
— House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Richland
‘Short of ... a plan that is workable’
— Rep. Russell Ott, D-Calhoun, on the House transportation committee
‘Acknowledged ... we have a serious problem’
— Bill Ross, head of the S.C. Alliance to Fix Our Roads
‘Pass it quickly’
“We hope that the Legislature will take the governor’s plan seriously and pass it quickly. South Carolina’s infrastructure is crumbling and the road map outlined by these recommendations will not only improve roads but the quality of life for South Carolinians.”
— S.C. Club for Growth, a group of fiscal conservatives
This story was originally published January 21, 2015 at 9:38 PM with the headline "Reaction to Gov. Haley’s roads plan is mixed: A good start or not workable?."