OKLAHOMA CITY – A bill by Guthrie state Representative Jason Murphey designed to free up money for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) will be taking effect after being signed into law by Governor Brad Henry.

House Bill 2231, authored by Murphey, will release $400,000 of taxpayer funds that Murphey says was being unnecessarily encumbered to meet the requirements of an antiquated state law that had not been used in years.

"This money should be used to fund Oklahoma's roads and bridges where it is so badly needed," Murphey said.

Murphey sponsored the bill to eliminate a requirement placed on ODOT to place certain bronze markers in the pavement at certain points of new road projects. Due to advancements made in computer technology, it has not been necessary for ODOT to place the in-pavement markers for approximately 40 years. Thousands of taxpayers dollars remained tied down to meet this requirement even though it was no longer necessary.

House Bill 2231 updated the law to remove the antiquated language and to free up the appropriated money so that it can be used for other transportation-related purposes.

Murphey says that funding Oklahoma's roads is hard enough without being hindered by antiquated legal language that has been left in the law for far too long.