From the Indianapolis Star:
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard says he’s holding out hope the General Assembly will find a way to revive a long-discussed Central Indiana mass transit expansion that a Senate committee has stalled.
The Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee voted 12-0 Tuesday to study the issue over the summer rather than approve a bill that would have put the transit plan before voters in a referendum.
“I’d still like it to happen this year, there’s no question about that,” Ballard told The Indianapolis Star this morning during an interview in his office on the City-County Building’s 25th floor (see video above). “I think ’13 is a better year — the best year — to do it.”
A vote by the full Senate is likely next week on the stripped-down bill. There’s a chance, however, that negotiations with the House, which already passed the full bill, could restore it.
Otherwise, advocates would have to wait until next year’s session to seek legislation authorizing the a referendum again, after the summer study is done.
If approved by voters in a referendum, the 10-year, $1.3 billion transit expansion would double bus service in Marion County and add commuter routes to Hamilton County. Local income taxes would be increased by 0.3 percent.
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See the full article and watch the video here:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013304040048
