South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) vowed on April 4 to veto any legislation that includes a state gas tax increase. Instead, the governor urged lawmakers to approve bonds for highway construction. The legislature approved $1 billion in bonds in 2013 and $2 billion in bonds in 2016. The House approved a bill in March with a veto-proof majority (97-18) to generate $530 million annually, including a 10 cents-per-gallon gas tax increase. The Senate Finance Committee amended the bill to generate $800 million and include a larger gas tax increase, but a coalition of senators has blocked the bill from receiving a full Senate vote. Read More>>

A nonpartisan analysis by the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee found that the Pennsylvania State Police is receiving $220 million more from the Motor License Fund (revenue from state motor fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees) than they should be. The state police should be receiving just over $530 million annually, while last year the department was granted over $750 million. If the additional $220 million had been retained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation the agency could have repaired 1,111 miles of road or replaced 138 bridges. Read More>>

Despite passing legislation in 2015 that increased transportation funding, Michigan still has $3.3 million in unfunded road repair projects according to the latest report from the National Transportation Research Group released April 4. Read More>>

Facing a state transportation funding shortfall, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet announced a road project prioritization model called the “Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow” (SHIFT). SHIFT would determine project priority based on a formula that weighs 25 percent safety, 20 percent congestion mitigation, 20 percent economic development, 20 percent asset management, and 15 percent cost/benefit analysis. The model follows the “Pause 50” program, announced June 7, 2016, which initiated a yearlong delay in funding state projects in order to prevent the state’s road fund balance from going into the negative. “Pause 50” is expected to end on July 1. Read More>>