Idaho Transportation Department, lawmakers push for fuel tax
While gas prices are dropping, some are calling for a fuel tax increase.
The state transportation department and lawmakers want a tax increase to allow for maintenance on highways and bridges.
“The issue is aging infrastructure with insufficient resources to maintain it let alone to improve it,” said Bruce King from the Idaho Transportation Department.
“We have 12,000 roads in our state highway system that has to be funded. We do a remarkably good job– it’s astounding the quality roads we do have in the state– but there are definitely funding needs,” said state Rep. Linden Bateman.
Funding for the highways comes from state and federal taxes on fuel. A tax that hasn’t increased in nearly 20 years. Meanwhile, construction and maintenance costs have gone up.
“We have a 25-cent gas tax that will not buy nearly what it did in 1996,” said Bateman.
Bridges need work too. Many in Idaho are more than 50 years old.
“One day bridges need to be replaced, and so it’s a concern an on-going concern. We just want to maintain an excellent state highway system and we’re doing the best we can with the resources we have. And of course resourced decisions are a matter for the state legislature, so we’re watching with interest what the legislators do in the upcoming session,” said King.
“I think the need is there, and I think that even among some of my more conservative colleagues, we’re seeing the need for some kind of increase in highway funding,” said Bateman.
Bateman said this is going to be a big issue during the upcoming legislative session. Gov. Otter proposed raising the gas tax a few years ago, and got a lot of heat.
“We just have to face it and have an increase in gas taxes and this will be an ideal time to do it as gas prices are going down,” Bateman said. “But we’ve got to bite the bullet.”
He said the tax will save money in the long run.
“We have a marvelous infrastructure, but we need to maintain it. We need to take care of what we have, so I think we need to come up with additional funding to maintain that infrastructure,” said Bateman.
