A New Hampshire bill to raise the gas tax by approximately 4-cents-per-gallon is currently under consideration in the state legislature.
Senate Bill 367—sponsored by Senator Jim Rausch (R-Derry)—proposes an increase of the state gasoline tax by 4.2-cents-per-gallon in 2014, which would raise $32 million for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
Earlier this week, the Senate Finance Committee supported SB 367. However, the Senate Finance Committee endorsed SB 367 after making a sweeping change to the bill—the 4-cents-per-gallon tax increase would be repealed after a bond is paid back for an interstate project. This provision was proposed as an amendment by Senator Nancy Stiles (R), which also addressed how to allocate the funds. In 2015, Stiles’ amendment would allocate $12 million for road rehabilitation projects, $13.2 million for resurfacing projects, and the remainder for bridges. The Senate Finance Committee approved Stiles’ amendment with a vote of 4 to 1.
The initial version of the bill previously passed in the Senate on March 13 with a vote of 14 to 9. New Hampshire has not raised its gasoline tax since 1991, which currently stands at 18-cents-per-gallon.