Senator Nichols Files Transportation Funding Bill

AUSTIN (AP) — An East Texas state senator has refiled a major transportation funding bill for the special session that starts Monday. The constitutional amendment from Republican Senator Robert Nichols of Jacksonville would divert nearly $1 billion a year to build and repair highways. The plan uses oil and gas severance taxes collected and now sent to the state’s cash reserve fund. Transportation officials say Texas needs to spend an extra $4 billion per year to keep pace its expanding population.