COMMISSION OPPOSES ADDED MEMBERSHIP

Although the legislation might be well-intended, members of the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission strongly oppose an effort to expand the size of their body from six to nine members, Cape Girardeau attorney John Oliver said Wednesday.

"The commission believes one of the primary strengths of the commission since 1928 has been that it functions as an independent body, with statewide vision, as opposed to a representative body which serves the political needs of a given, limited constituency," said Oliver, who is vice chairman of the commission.

"As a result, the commission, since at least 1928, has been able to function based on an objective criteria."

Oliver said a nine-member commission, appointed from congressional districts, will "inevitably" relegate commissioners to representation of their constituents.

The highway commission held its monthly meeting Wednesday, where commissioners discussed the proposal, Oliver said.

Ultimately, Oliver said, a larger commission with representation from each congressional district could leave the body with an urban slant that could hurt rural highway development.

Highway commissioners are appointed by the governor with Senate approval. The board must have three Democrats and three Republicans.

The commission is an independent body that oversees the state's 32,000-mile highway system.

Expanding the commission will require approval from both houses of the legislature and the signature of Gov. Mel Carnahan.

But the measure appears to have strong support from influential people, including the governor.

Sponsors in the Senate include Senate President James Mathewson, Majority Leader Jet Banks, and Minority Leader Franc Flotron. House Speaker Bob Griffin is handling the measure in that chamber.

Legislative leaders contend the expanded commission will insure representation around the state, something people in places like the St. Joseph area complain has been lacking.

But Oliver disagrees that parts of the state haven't been represented. He said a review of selections of highway commissioners over the years shows that no one area has been slighted.

"In fact, people screaming the loudest in the St. Joe area have historically had more commissioners than Southeast Missouri," Oliver said.

Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said Wednesday he is open to considering the idea, but is skeptical. Also, Kinder said he is unsure what led to the legislation because no one has called him suggesting the commission be expanded.

"There is some concern from outstate areas that this will actually dilute outstate influence and transfer more to the urban areas," said Kinder. "I will look very skeptically on it if that is likely to be its effect."

He added: "I am also concerned about further politicization of an independent agency that has operated largely free of politics. It is one of the great success stories of Missouri that we have not had Republican roads and Democratic roads. We have had a professional staff of engineers in the department, governed by a bi-partisan commission not engaged in the business of log rolling and horse trading to see where roads and bridges go."

Rep. Dennis Ziegenhorn, D-Sikeston, said Tuesday that after he first heard of the idea, expanding the commission seemed to make sense.

But the legislator said he wanted to hear Oliver's views before making a final decision.

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea because we will have representation from all over," he said. "It's definitely worth looking at.

"It is very nice to have John Oliver as a commissioner. He has been very responsive to my legislative district, but he is one man. You can burn people out easier when you have so few, but you can also have more conflict with nine rather than six," Ziegenhorn added. "That doesn't seem to be a bad theory to look at."

Rep. Larry Thomason, D-Kennett, the House majority whip, calls the plan "an excellent idea.

He points out that highway commission seats are choice appointments for a governor and there is a tendency to put close associates of the governor on the board. Sometimes, that limits statewide representation.

"This way, every area of the state gets representation on the commission," Thomason said. "I can't imagine why it hasn't been done in the past. "It's a solid idea. It doesn't favor any party, idea or place. It is a good solution to a problem that exists."

Thomason said he understands the highway commission is opposed to the plan, but suggested they "are just trying to protect their turf. A commission with six commissioners is more powerful than one with nine."

But Oliver said a commission representing congressional districts will politicize the commission and highway funding process. "Congressional districts are based on population, and population-based selection will naturally lead to an urban influence if not outright dominance," said Oliver.

The commissioner said high funding already is tilted in favor of urban areas, because the commission allocates funds based on highly traveled road - historically in Kansas City and St. Louis.

But at least that process, sending money to "where people drive, not on where people live," is user-fee based, Oliver said.

"To change that to a population base will lead to total dominance by urban areas," he said.

Oliver stressed the commission is not concerned that Carnahan will appoint a commission that is urban dominated, but he said the potential exists in future administrations.

That dominance also could lead to millions of dollars taken from outstate projects to support big city mass transit.

From a practical matter, having a nine member groups makes consensus more difficult to get, Oliver said. Many of the most efficient highway commissions in the country have just three members.

"My message to legislators on this is that after Proposition A projects are done, with a nine-member commission you can forget outstate," Oliver said. "Projects like Highways 60, 63, 412, 32, a road to Jefferson City ... you can forget it. You have no chips."

Oliver said the legislation may be "very well intentioned," but "a poor idea" because of its end results.