The Mississippi Senate transportation bill is going to a conference committee following action by the Mississippi House amending the measure.

Known as the BRIDGE Act, Building Roads, Improving Development, Growing the Economy, the bill proposed by Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves would raise $1.1 billion for transportation improvements for Mississippi.

It would be funded by issuing $150 million in debt and taking funds normally earmarked primarily for education, health care and law enforcement.

Estimates indicate about 60 percent of the revenue in the bill will go for state needs with 40 percent for local governments. In some cases, a local match will be needed to get state funds.

The bill amended by the House passed by a vote of 104-5.

Repeated attempts to contact State Sen. Briggs Hopson III, R-Vicksburg, were unsuccessful.

“It wasn’t perfect, but it (the amended version), was better than it was,” said Dist. 55 Rep. Oscar Denton, D-Vicksburg. “They gave the power back to MDOT (Mississippi Department of Transportation) to oversee the Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund. We felt like it was a whole lot better than the original bill.”

“I like the fact that we’re taking it (funding) back to the local level in our version of the bill, which gives more power and control back to the city and county,” Dist. 54 Rep. Kevin Ford, R-Vicksburg, said. “It takes it out of our coffers and puts in theirs.”

The House amendment provides additional funding for specific infrastructure projects throughout the state, utilizes use tax revenue and designates $200 million worth of revenue bonds for the purpose of providing money for the Strategic Infrastructure Investment Fund.

Under the House amendment, the state Department of Revenue would allocate 15 percent of the total use tax revenue collected during the previous fiscal year to cities, based on sales tax distribution. That money would be dedicated to repairs, maintenance and reconstruction of municipal roads, streets and bridges.

One-third of the use tax would be allocated to counties, based on the number of rural roads in the county and the county’s rural population.

In other activity this past week, the House and Senate passed House Bill 1510, known as the Gestational Age Act, which restricts abortions to within the first 15 weeks of conception. The bill was sent to Gov. Phil Bryant, who indicated he would sign it. The previous period was 20 weeks.

“I voted against it the first time, I voted against it the second time,” Denton said, “because to me it’s not about abortion; it’s about taking a woman’s right away from her to decide what she wants to do with her body.”

Ford voted for the bill.

“I think it’s a good bill; I do think it will stand the (legal challenges),” he said.

The House also passed an amendment to Senate Bill 2976, which sets the budget for the state Gaming Commission, to withhold funds for the commission until a state lottery is established. The measure passed by voice vote.

“The majority of the people want a lottery, no question about it,” Denton said. “If it (the bill) makes it through the Senate, it will surprise me. If it makes it through conference, it will surprise me, but we can’t get that bill (for a lottery) on the floor to vote for it, and the people want it.”

Ford opposed the amendment.

“I think it (the lottery) needs to be put back on the ballot and the people decide — A, if they want a lottery, because it’s been so long since that vote (lottery referendum) happened, and B, where the money needs to go is the important thing. Does it need to go to the general fund, does it need to go to education or infrastructure repairs? Now, it just goes to the general fund.”