Emerging from a meeting with the governor, House Speaker Lawerence Denney said at a news conference just now, "The vote we had on the House floor was certainly not a vote against the governor. We think the governor has certainly made his case for increased funding for transportation ... and certainly there is the need out there. However it's very difficult for us ... most of the debate that we have heard on the House floor is now is not the time, the economy is not good. I think that's the basic reason why we cannot seem to get a gas tax increase off the House floor."

Denney added, "We are still in negotiations with the governor to see what we might still be able to do to increase the revenue for transportation, and the negotiations are ongoing." Asked about the governor's demeanor at the meeting, Denney said, "He did not appear to be overly angry at us."

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