Still work to be done

Last weekend, a Guthrie County farmer was injured when a bridge collapsed under the tractor he was driving. The injuries, thankfully, were not life-threatening.

But the incident illustrates a steadily worsening situation in Iowa: repairs of bridges and roads have fallen way behind. So much, in fact, that the Iowa Department of Transportation estimates there is an annual backlog of about $215 million for critical repairs alone. That list includes about one in every five bridges.

As the 2014 session of the Iowa Legislature nears its end, yet another attempt to find more money for transportation infrastructure appears to be on the ropes.

This issue was one of several we identified in January as especially in need of legislative action this year. We wouldn't buy the excuse that this is an election year. And we still don't.

Legislators should not be content to let lay the transportation funding issue when this session expires, likely by the end of this month. Neither should they walk away from doing something about another pressing issue that hasn't received its due: transitional funding for mental health care.

INFRASTRUCTURE WOES

The deterioration of Iowa's roads and bridges is well known by most anyone who drives much. One of the biggest, if not the primary, factors is that the state road use fund hasn't kept up with the needs. A big chunk of that is funded by the taxes we all pay at the pump. The flat tax - for 21 cents a gallon for regular gasoline and 19 cents for ethanol-blends - hasn't been increased for 25 years. And cars today are more fuel-efficient, reducing the amount of tax paid for the same number of miles driven.

Both the Senate and House transportation committee chairs, Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, and Josh Byrnes, R-Osage, understand the problem. Increasing the fuel tax is clearly the most effective action to take now if we're going to close the gap on infrastructure needs any time soon.

But a proposal to raise the gas tax by 10 cents a gallon over three years failed. And a more recent proposal - lowering the gas tax but increasing the tax at the wholesale level by 5 percent, a so-called hybrid plan - is on the verge of the same fate.

Byrnes points out the folly of neglecting this source of revenue. For one, 25 counties are bonding for road and bridge repair, to the tune of $163 million that also will cost taxpayers interest payments. Other cities, such as Cedar Rapids, have passed local-option sales taxes to help pay for badly needed street repairs.

A gas tax is essentially a user fee that is also paid by travelers from out-of-state who buy fuel in our state. Increasing this 'fee” makes more sense than piling up taxpayer debt.

If the hybrid plan became law, the average Iowan would pay between $40 and $60 more in tax at the pump per year. That's a relatively small price to pay compared to even one bill for the shocks and tires that bad roads devour.

tax FARMERS MORE?

Some critics suggest that farmers should be paying a bigger share toward road and bridge maintenance. Farmers are primary users of Iowa's extensive farm-to-market transportation system, which includes about 19,000 of the state's nearly 25,000 bridges. Their tractors, wagons and combines are much larger and heavier than the equipment of a few decades ago, and many rural bridges and roads weren't designed for today's huge machines. So why don't farmers have to pay a tax on fuel used in their equipment because of a state exemption?

There's some logic in arguing that farmers, as most other Iowans do, should pay that tax, or at least some portion.

But remember that this state's economy relies heavily on Iowa's transportation system to move billions of dollars worth of ag commodities and products, much of which is exported and represents a large portion of our gross domestic product.

Meanwhile, legislators shouldn't ignore the overall infrastructure needs of Iowans. This state's future prosperity requires more infrastructure investment, and the gas tax is still the best vehicle to fund it in the near future.

Byrnes has taken heat from some fellow Republicans for his position. Yet he faces no opponent in the June primary election. He's not giving up on it. 'If this issue gets me unelected (in November's general election), so be it,” he said on an Iowa Public Radio 'River to River” program last week.

We wish more legislators would show such conviction on this issue.

MENTAL HEALTH CARE GAP

Iowa is about two years into a mental health care reform plan that has the admirable goal of evening out access to care across the state - creating a regional system that replaces the county-based approach. It will be another two years or longer before we know the outcome and whether it's adequately funded.

But so far, the transition has been hard on many of the thousands of Iowans with mental illnesses. Waiting lists for treatment and access to care have lengthened. And the respected Abbe Center in Marion, one of a handful of large remaining residential facilities in the state, closed last year, with officials citing reduced local, state and federal funding and federal policies for the decision.

Gov. Terry Branstad drew flak last year when he vetoed a $13 million supplemental appropriation to help cover the transitional gap of services.

The governor in his fiscal-year 2015 budget proposal added $29 million for mental health care. But as of late last week, there has been no concrete action by the Legislature.

For the sake of those among the most vulnerable of our residents, lawmakers must be sure to address this need before adjourning.

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