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Madison — Voters will decide next month whether to amend the state constitution to guarantee money in the transportation fund can't be used for other purposes.

The effort is a response to state elected officials tapping $1.3 billion from the transportation fund to pay for schools and other programs over several years. Those moves were made by then-Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, and lawmakers from both parties.

The practice stopped in 2011, when Republicans took over the governor's office and both houses of the Legislature. But supporters of the constitutional amendment say it is necessary to prevent officials from dipping into the transportation fund in the future.

The statewide referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot will ask voters if they want to create a clause in the Wisconsin constitution that says money generated from using roads, airports, harbors and the like must be used exclusively for transportation. That would ensure that revenue from the gas tax and vehicle registration fees isn't used for schools, health care or other state programs.

The move comes at a time when transportation officials are seeking more money to fund highways. Having lawmakers use transportation funds for other programs "just ruined people's confidence in user fees," said Craig Thompson, executive director of the Transportation Development Association.

"Without this, I don't think we ever get to a fruitful conversation about how we address those (transportation) needs," he said.

Thompson's group has been one of the organizations funding the Vote Yes for Transportation coalition, which includes business and transportation groups, as well as some labor organizations. It had about $300,000 on hand as of the end of June, with much of its funding coming from Thompson's group, the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association and unions representing workers involved in road building.

The coalition is running radio ads but not TV spots, Thompson said.

No group has registered against the proposed amendment, but Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) has called the change to the constitution unnecessary.

"It guarantees the highway lobby a lock on certain funds," Risser said. "To give one special-interest group a constitutional lock on a hunk of money, I do not think is good public policy."

Legislators should have the flexibility to decide how the state directs money it takes in, he said. If more money is needed for roads, lawmakers should vote to increase the gas tax or registration fees, Risser said, adding he would support such a move.

Lawmakers laid the groundwork for putting the referendum on the ballot with votes in 2011 and 2013 — the measure had to pass twice before it could go to voters. The referendum is the final step in the process, so the constitution will be amended if a majority of voters support it.

The plan passed with overwhelming support in the Legislature. In the most recent vote, it was approved 82-13 in the Assembly and 25-8 in the Senate.

Twenty-eight states have provisions in their constitutions protecting their transportation funds, according to the Vote Yes coalition. Like Wisconsin, Maryland has a referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot to change its constitution on the same issue.

A special commission last year determined Wisconsin needs an additional $6.8 billion for transportation over the next decade. Legislative leaders immediately rejected the panel's suggestions to raise gas taxes and registration fees and create a new mileage-based fee.

The gas tax — the chief source of revenue for roads — stands at 32.9 cents per gallon. Two cents of that amount is supposed to go toward cleaning up leaking underground storage tanks, rather than transportation.