TALENT OUTLINES PLAN FOR MODOT RESTRUCTURING

Missouri's highway commission would no longer award construction contracts under a plan that would put the operating power in the hands of a secretary of transportation.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Talent wants to create a secretary of transportation position to be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

Talent said Friday that, if elected governor, he will ask the Legislature to adopt a plan to restructure the Missouri Department of Transportation and the highway commission. The plan then would be submitted to the voters as a constitutional amendment.

Cape Girardeau lawyer and former highway commissioner John Oliver Jr. opposes the plan.

Under Talent's plan, the highway commission would be expanded from six members to 11. Talent wants to change the whole role of the commission. The commission would no longer award construction contracts. That would be handled by the transportation secretary.

The commission would focus on oversight and statewide needs. It would have its own staff. The commission would oversee quarterly independent audits of MoDOT and transportation projects.

The commission would report its findings to the public, the transportation secretary, Legislature and the governor every 90 days.

Talent said his plan is fashioned after the system in use in Florida. At least two-thirds of the states have similar transportation systems, he said.

The commission would include a member from each of Missouri's nine congressional districts and two at-large members representing transportation interests.

Interviewed by telephone, Talent said it is important that all areas of the state are represented on the commission. Currently, there is only one transportation commission member from southern Missouri, he said. Commissioner William Gladden is from Houston, Mo.

The commissioners would be appointed by the governor as is currently the case. Terms likely would be staggered, but initially Talent would appoint all the members.

Talent said his plan would provide each region of the state with representation on the commission. Currently, the state constitution only requires the governor to appoint a bipartisan commission. No more than three of the six members can be of the same political party.

Oliver served on the state transportation commission from 1989 to 1995. Oliver said he plans to vote for Talent, but he doesn't like the candidate's plan to restructure the highway commission. Oliver said Talent's plan would take away the independence of the highway commission and lead commissioners to focus on their own regions rather than transportation needs statewide.

Voters decades ago approved constitutional provisions that provide for an independent highway commission in an effort to get politics out of highway department operations, Oliver said.

Talent's plan would lead to a highway commission that could break down into factions whose members could then be unduly influenced by bureaucrats, Oliver said. The result would be a commission controlled by the very MoDOT staff it was intended to oversee, Oliver said.

MoDOT already has a department director. Oliver said he sees no reason why the state needs a transportation secretary.

Oliver said it would amount to more bureaucracy. Several new administrative positions have been created at MoDOT in recent years with little to show for it, he said. "How many miles of roads has that built?"

Talent's Democratic opponent, Bob Holden, questioned how much the plan would cost taxpayers. "This is another example of Talent's fiscal irresponsibility," he said in a press release.

Talent defended the plan. He said the leadership at MoDOT currently isn't accountable to the public, the governor or the Legislature. "If nobody is accountable, the job doesn't get done," he said.

Talent said MoDOT Director Henry Hungerbeeler might continue to serve in an administrative role at the agency.

"This isn't a referendum on Henry Hungerbeeler or anybody else over there," he said.

But Talent said road maintenance and construction in the state has been "a fiasco" for the past decade.

"Most people believe public funds are not being spent wisely in terms of road building. We have a crisis in confidence," he said.

Talent said his plan could lead to improved efficiencies in a highway department that operates with a $1.5 billion budget. He said the state needs a transportation secretary who stays out of politics. "I won't let him put a bumper sticker on his car," he said.

Talent said he is open to suggestions as to the exact makeup of a new commission, provided there is regional representation. "I am open to what the Legislature wants."

Talent said the current system isn't independent of politics. Even with staggered terms, a governor who serves two terms can end up appointing every member of the commission.

"I think what we have here is neither independence nor accountability," he said.

Talent said his plan won't necessarily give the governor more clout. "I think what it is, he will have more accountability."