The Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met Tuesday morning to discuss one bill, and hear a presentation from the West Virginia Division of Highways (DOH).
Senate Bill 105 relates to aggravated drivers. The bill would enhance the penalty if the conduct that led to the conviction of reckless driving created a severe and imminent danger to one or more minors outside the vehicle. That decision would be made by a judge.
The committee unanimously approved the bill, and it was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Transportation Secretary Tom Smith updated the committee on the status of the division and its current needs. Smith talked about the deferred maintenance issue in the state.
In 2013, the Blue Ribbon Commission issued a report on West Virginia roads stating that to keep roads at current levels, $750 million would be need annually to keep the roads as is. In 2018, West Virginia needed $4.5 billion to cover the backlog of deferred maintenance since 2013.
The Roads to Prosperity has funded $2 billion to help the problem but that still leaves the state with $2.5 billion left to fund to continue deferred maintenance.
Smith also noted that West Virginia is sixth nationally for most roads in a state, and West Virginia own 94 percent of the roads in the state alone.
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