County Commission | The Magazine January February 2018 | Page 39

FROM THE COVER
applicable customers, and
further authorize the statewide
911 Board to take audit and
collection actions, as necessary,
to enforce such collections.
Rural
Transportation
Foundation Principle
The county commission
is responsible
for proper
construction,
maintenance,
and repair of
all roads and
bridges in the
county road
system. The
Association believes
it is essential that
the county commission
have adequate federal, state, and/
or local funding to meet the many
needs of its rural transportation
system. Additionally, the
Association believes that, in order
to keep roads and bridges properly
maintained for the safety and
well-being of the traveling public,
the county commission must have
broad regulatory authority related
to the use of county-maintained
roads and bridges, including the
ability to collect reimbursement
from persons or entities causing
damage to those roads and bridges.
Strategic Goals
In furtherance of this
Foundation Principle, the
Association will actively pursue the
passage of legislation to accomplish
the following strategic goals:
•
•
To provide adequate funding
of road and bridge projects,
provided counties receive an
equitable portion of funding
utilizing the current gas tax
formula.
To establish the Alabama
Transportation Rehabilitation
and Improvement Program
2 (ATRIP-2) providing a
$1.2 billion bond issue for
the rehabilitation and
improvement of county
and municipal roads
and bridges.
•
To amend
the Alabama bid
law to exempt the
repair of brand
name equipment by
the factory- authorized
dealer.
Legislative Policy
In addition to its strategic goals,
the Association has adopted the
following legislative policy consistent
with this Foundation Principle:
• Support for allowing the
county commission to call a
local referendum to impose
a renewable temporary local
gasoline and motor fuel tax to
fund specified local road and
bridge projects.
•
•
Opposition to any
measures, including budget
appropriations, which
would divert taxes currently
earmarked for roads and
bridges to other state
functions.
Opposition to reducing the
current level of federal or state
funding for county road and
bridge projects.
• Opposition to weakening
Alabama’s law related to weight
or axle-spacing restrictions on
state and county roads or to
add new exemptions to such
laws.
• Support for providing that
fines collected from persons
convicted of driving overweight
vehicles on county roads and
bridges be distributed to the
county’s road and bridge fund.
• Opposition to establishing
a commission to administer
the Alabama Department of
Transportation.
• Opposition to any changes to
current law setting speed limits
on unposted county roads.
• Support for amending current
motor fuel and gasoline tax
statutes to include taxation of
any alternative fuels utilized to
propel any motorized vehicle.
• Support for amending
Alabama’s severance tax law
to ensure that counties receive
proceeds sufficient to ensure
proper maintenance and repair
of roads and bridges utilized
for the transportation of
materials severed within the
county.
• Support amending the
Alabama Public Works Law
to exempt the awarding of
annual in-place contracts for
the paving and resurfacing of
county roads. n
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