HIGHWAY FALLOUT CONTINUES

Fallout from the debacle over the collapse of Missouri's 15-year highway plan continues to mount. Recall that last year officials claimed that plan was some $14 billion in the hole. Other knowledgeable insiders -- and former insiders such as former chief engineer Wayne Muri -- dispute the existence of any such shortfall. Nonetheless, one consequence could well be passage of a bill whose purpose is to achieve greater public accountability and oversight over the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department.

Companion House and Senate measures are sponsored by state Sen. Danny Staples, D-Eminence, and state Rep. Don Koller, D-Summersville. The two are chairmen of their respective house's standing committees on transportation. Each bill mandates that the department offer to lawmakers, the governor and the public a thorough annual accounting of its finances, along with progress reports on construction projects. A committee including lawmakers would be established to bring in an outside auditor to review the department's report. This information would then be forwarded to other state officials and to the public.

The one that appears in a position to pass is Koller's. Something like this measure was probably inevitable after the collapse of the 15-year plan. In any event, Missouri state government will be years restoring the credibility lost through this unfortunate episode.