Haslam Skeptical Of State Lawmakers’ Attempt To Ban The Amp

Haslam told reporters Tuesday morning he spoke to the state’s transportation commissioner to “make certain anything we do doesn’t… either in a legal way or in a precedent way cause us issues with how the department of transportation has traditionally run projects.” (Photo via Gov. Bill Haslam’s flickr)

Gov. Bill Haslam doesn’t like the current legislative push to halt Nashville’s proposed dedicated bus lane through downtown.  Two committees of lawmakers are set to discuss a bill Wednesday that would stop the project, known as the Amp.

Haslam cautioned he doesn’t know enough to say whether the Amp specifically is a worthwhile project, but he thinks Nashville Mayor Karl Dean is correct to prioritize transit.  Haslam questions whether it’s appropriate for state lawmakers to wade into such plans:

“My concern is always going to be, do we want to do transportation project by legislative committee?  I don’t think that’s the right approach, so my concern is not so much the Amp as an issue, but are we doing the right thing long-term in terms of how we do government.”

Meanwhile, Mayor Dean’s office has issued a strongly worded message saying the bill to stop the Amp is an “attempt to usurp” a local process.  It steers people to a website urging them to write state officials.