An Alabama Senate panel rejected a measure to create an independent commission to operate the state Transportation Department.

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee voted 4-3 April 14 to sideline the bill, HB172, which sought to create a nine-member commission appointed by the governor. It previously passed the House 93-1.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, told The Associated Press Alabama’s long tradition of letting the governor control the Department of Transportation puts too much politics in the state’s highway program. He said a commission with staggered terms would provide continuity from one governor’s administration to the next.

Opponents of the bill contend it wouldn’t remove politics because the governor would make the appointments. They also complained that the bill didn’t require the commission to reflect the state’s racial diversity and didn’t mandate any qualifications for commission members.