[symple_spacing size=”80″]Welcome to my inaugural blog. It is my hope that I touch upon relevant issues in all my blogs that will be written on a weekly basis. Mostly the blogs will have something relevant to New Jersey issues, but sometimes they may address national ones also.

The funding for maintaining our road system, including the construction of new roads, is in great trouble. The fund, called the Transportation Trust Fund is just about broke. The way money is collected is via a tax on gasoline. That’s right every time you fill up your tank you are being taxed, both by the state and national governments, to maintain the roads. Have you looked at our roads recently? So many potholes, so many roads and bridges in need of repair or replacement.  Governor Christie states that our Transportation Trust Fund is just about depleted and the National Government says their fund is going broke too!

I will not go into the costs of having bad roads. But, I will point out that experts state that your car maintenance costs go up when the roads are not kept up.

This is a very relevant issue for the driving public in both New Jersey and nationally. With both funds going broke. Ah, you say just raise the tax. And I say nay, that will not fix the problem if that is all that is done. For in fact neither of these funds are dedicated. Nothing prevents the Governor or the Legislator or Congress from diverting the money in these funds to some other purpose.

So the following is my proposal to at least prevent the diversion of these funds from their stated purpose plus it would also affect other so called dedicated funds. Please note this is worded for the State of New Jersey.

Well here is my idea without of course all the fancy legalize, after all I am not a lawyer-

‘A constitutional amendment that makes any existing so called ‘Dedicated Funds’, such as the Transportation Trust (Gas Tax) Fund and the other funds, be converted into real constitutionally dedicated funds. Each dedicated fund must have their own separate bank account and neither of which the Governor or Legislature could raid. They can only be used for their dedicated purpose as described in the legislation that created them. Also, any future dedicated funds would automatically fall under this constitutional amendment.’

What this would do is prevent the raiding of funds to balance the budget or the money in them used for some other purpose than what was originally intended by legislation that created them.

The creation of a Constitutional Amendment to make ‘Dedicated Funds’ that are truly dedicated would be a very powerful piece of legislation and prevent the siphoning off of monies for purposes other than intended by the legislation that created that fund.

Will someone step up from the legislator and make this idea of mine come true or as usual nothing will happen. After all who knows what politicians will do.

This is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike