A transportation funding proposal isn’t quite ready for a vote before the full state House.
Negotiations are expected to continue into next month as state lawmakers try to secure public works payment-related concessions from labor unions that can woo Republican votes without losing support from Democratic members.
But House Speaker Sam Smith won’t even say he’s cautiously optimistic that a plan could pass in November.
"Certainly we made some headway, certainly there’s still some issue with union support in Democrat quarters, and that maybe we should try to have the four caucuses come closer to what would be agreeable," Smith said.
A proposal to fund roads, bridges, mass transit, and more stalled in the House before summer.
The Senate is pushing for a proposal between the $1.8 billion plan outlined by the governor and a two-point-five billion dollar plan they passed in May.
