Gov. Bill Haslam said the efforts by Stop Amp to halt the project through the legislative process — for example, mandating curbside entry and exit rather than in a dedicated center lane on a state highway — might not be the best way to run a government.

From his press availability this morning:

What do you think of this latest legislative push to single out The Amp and to block it?

A couple of things. First of all, I think Mayor [Karl] Dean has put his focus in the right place in terms of Nashville, where one the key issues, unquestionably, are growth, education and transportation. I'm not a professional enough to know if The Amp is the right plan or not. I haven't dug into it that deep. I think one of the concerns, and I spoke to [DOT] Commissioner [John] Schroer yesterday, is I want to make certain anything we do doesn't set in a legal way or in a precedent way, cause us issues with how the Department of Transportation has traditionally run projects. That would be the concern I would have.

So, does that mean you would oppose the current bill?

I really don't know that. Again, Commissioner Schroer and I are continuing to talk. One of the questions is: What is the appropriate role for the legislature in transportation projects? That's probably the discussion that I want to have.

What do you see for Nashville in terms of public transportation now?

I think the Mayor has put his emphasis in just the right place — education and transportation. Because there's no question that Nashville will continue to grow. I'm not a transportation expert enough to know what the right plan is. But I think having those discussions is a good thing.

Do you think Lawmakers should be doing what they're doing? You have Senator Tracy saying you should get all kinds of approval before you do something like this; there's the bill about dropping people off on the side of the road instead of the middle. It all seems to be aimed at one thing — screwing around with Nashville government.

Well, again, from my standpoint as the governor looking at the long term, my concern is always going to be, do we want to do transportation projects by legislative committee? I don't think that's the right approach. My concern is not so much The Amp as an issue, but are we doing the right thing in terms of how we do government.

Is it extra difficult for you because Beth Harwell has voiced opposition to this and she's such a key ally of yours?

First of all, the Speaker represents the district, so her position is very different than mine, obviously. My position is one that I've got to be concerned about the long-term consequences of how we do things in the state. It's not so much this project, but long term, do we want to have transportation projects done by legislative committee? Her role is different from mine in this.