In a year where it shouldn’t be possible to be surprised anymore, was anyone else shocked that Post Malone is a better country singer than most of what’s coming out of Nashville these days? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Post Malone played with Dwight Yoakam’s band in a charity concert organized by Matthew McConaughey and he totally stole the show. If you haven’t heard it, Google it and we’ll be here when you get back. A country artist with face tattoos, who knew?
Save the Date: April 8th 1pm to 2:15 pm
The Infrastructure Council will hold our Spring meeting on April 8th from 1 to 2:15 pm via Microsoft Teams. Senate Transportation Chairman Ram Villivalam and Minority Spokesman DeWitte will provide updates on their vision for infrastructure issues this session.
There will be a Question and Answers portion for the two transportation leaders. I would appreciate you sending me any questions, or even general topics of interest, in advance.
Committee Updates
The House Transportation:Regulation and Roads met Monday at noon. Several resolutions were passed a few different bills of substance. HB 2863 passed out of committee by a vote of 9-3. This bill would create an appeal process for landowners and developers who want to create ditches or culverts on their property but is rejected by the road commissioner. The sponsor said there will be an amendment and discussions with opponents. HB 3881 provides clarifications on the definition of a local road. HB 2499 expands the use of electronic signatures for state government business. HB 2524 (Hoffman) which regulates train length was not called.
The Senate Transportation Committee met for the first time on Tuesday. The Chamber has three tracked bills currently assigned which cover topics related to funding for airports in SB 1764, bicycle and pedestrian paths in SB 1768 and Design-Build in HB 1878. None of these bills were called. The committee did pass two bills related to temporary drivers licenses and IDOT traffic studies following pedestrian fatalities. A subcommittee on special issues was also created.
House Transportation: Vehicles and Safety is scheduled to meet this afternoon at 3 pm. There are no bills expected to be heard of interest at this time.
Design Build Update
As you all are undoubtedly aware, Illinois has the distinction of being the only state without some form of a design build process. Progress is slowly occurring at the capitol, but it remains uncertain whether we see something filed this spring. We remain supportive of design build as a concept. This will be one of the items we will explore at our Spring meeting.
Articles of Interest
Clark
