Mathias opposed to transportation scoring bill

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Friday that he will veto a transportation bill that would have made the state prioritize certain projects over others by using a scoring system that doesn’t exist.

Hogan saying in a letter to house speaker Michael Busch, “the legislation is regrettable and exemplifies the worst kind of policy making.”

The bill passed this week in the General Assembly and would require the Department of Transportation to score and rank all proposed major capital improvement projects, with the goal of making certain jobs higher priorities.

Under the bill the Department of Transportation would have until January 2017 to develop and adopt regulations on how to score these projects.

Locally, Sen. Jim Mathias (D) also opposes bill, saying he voted against it in the Senate after hearing from his constituents.

“They felt that if it was open to that scoring that we would unfortunately not get our fair share in the rural areas, and specifically on the Eastern Shore,” Mathias said.

Mathias tells 47 ABC that there is still time in the session for the General Assembly to override Hogan’s veto, although he adds he has not heard of any plans to do so.