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As the Tennessee General Assembly begins to debate whether toll roads have a place in the state, Blount County's legislative delegation remains mostly skeptical.

The "Tennessee Tollway Act," as currently written, would allow the Tennessee Department of Transportation to develop toll roads, which require the payment of fees for use.

The bill passed the Government Operations Committees in both the state House and Senate on Wednesday. It will now be considered in the respective Transportation Committees of both houses.

State Rep. Joe McCord, R-Maryville, is not inclined to support the idea.

"My initial instinct is no," he said. "I don't want to see toll roads in the state of Tennessee."

McCord said he has not heard many details about the legislation.

"State Rep. Phillip Pinion is chairman of the Transportation Committee," McCord said. "He's comfortable with it because of some unique situation, but no matter the scenario, I don't like the precedent it establishes."

Sen. Raymond Finney, R-Maryville, said he needs to know more about the proposal.

"Without studying this and without listening to testimony, I'm philosophically opposed to that, but we'll have to see how it shakes out. I'll just have to wait and see, but it is gaining a little bit of traction in General Assembly."

State Rep. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, said he is willing to listen.

"It's early in the process," Overbey said. "It's one of those things where my first reaction is 'well, we don't need that.' But on the other hand, it may be an option we ought to look at.

"Most people would prefer user fees rather than an increase in taxes ... a toll road would also mean that people traveling our state and using our roads would contribute to road construction."

Lydia Lenker, press secretary to Gov. Phil Bredesen, said the administration supports reconstituting a state toll roads commission, which was dissolved under the sunset law some years ago, to study the matter.

"The governor is not calling for toll roads this year," she said. "He is strictly lending his support to a bill that would re-create this authority. He is just looking to have this as a tool in the toolbox should we need a new funding mechanism for roads somewhere down the line."

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters advocated passage of the legislation during a speech at the "Plain Talk on Quality Growth" conference in Knoxville Friday.

"Without legislation like the pending Tennessee Tollway Act to remove roadblocks to public-private partnerships, your state will be stuck in the past," she said, according to prepared remarks. "You will lose out on opportunities to leverage taxpayer dollars and provide relief faster."

Relying on the gasoline tax to fund road improvements is not sustainable because of the national commitment to reduce gasoline consumption, she said.

A TDOT spokesperson could not be reached for comment on the bill or any potential plans.