Sacrificing some $40 million from the higher motor vehicles fees envisioned by the Legislature  doesn’t hurt the Division of Highways since the money was never anticipated in the first place, Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox insisted Thursday.

In fact, says Mattox, his agency is flush with an extra $11 million this year to resurface roads across the state on a priority basis.

Lawmakers enacted the proposed sweeping increases in various motor vehicle fees, intending to pump some $40 million into the DOH as it struggles to maintain its vast network of roads.

But acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed the bill for two reasons.

One reason was that the Legislature’s bill contained a fatally flawed provision with respect to imposing higher fees on nonresidents, and his second reason was that Tomblin said it was unwise to raise such fees during a deepening recession, since it places an extra burden on working West Virginians.

“That money was never budgeted,” Mattox said, while in town for the monthly meeting of the West Virginia Parkways Authority.

“It was a bill the Legislature took up. It did pass, but we never did budget for that money.”

Admittedly, the DOH could always use some extra cash, he said, but since the higher motor vehicle fees weren’t considered when the budget was drawn up, “It was just like it never happened.”

“Our budget has been consistently the same over the past 12 years, and projects over the next six years show it to be stable,” Mattox said.

“We are actually doing $11 million more in paving this year than we did last year. We have an increase in our privilege tax, and our fuel revenues have been pretty stable.”

With rising gas prices lately, Mattox has said he detects a tendency of West Virginians to drive less.

“But the privilege tax has been over and above what was anticipated in our budget,” he said.

“We were about plus-$30 million or so compared to what we had projected.”

Mattox said the DOH plans to launch paving projects around the state this summer.

“There are a lot of needs out there,” he said. “We try our best to hit our priorities.”

The DOH is also getting a head start fixing potholes this year, thanks to decisions by asphalt makers to open plants early, Mattox said. Until the hot mix is poured, the agency dumps a cold mix as a temporary fill.

“Actually, it’s already begun,” the transportation secretary said.

“In certain parts of the state, the asphalt plants opened up early for us, and we’re out there patching with hot mixes. We come out of winter months, and winters are tough on the roads. There’s a lot of work to be done.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com