Indiana House Democrats proposed a $2 billion transportation funding plan Nov. 9 in response to Gov. Mike Pence’s (R) earlier $1 billion plan. The Democrats’ plan includes $1 billion for state roads and bridges over four years and adds an addition $1 billion for local roads. To generate transportation revenue, the House Democrats’ plan would reallocate the state’s special fuels tax as well as sales tax paid on motor fuel purchases—currently being deposited into the General Fund—for road and bridge projects. More
Wisconsin lawmakers on Nov. 4 approved an additional $350 million in bonds in order to speed up critical transportation projects facing delays due to lack of funding. Combined with previous years’ road borrowing, the state will soon spend 21-cents out of every dollar of state gas tax and vehicle registration revenues to pay off debt interest and principal. Wisconsin GOP lawmakers have said they intend to look for a long-term transportation funding solution for the state. More & More
Connecticut State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport) on Nov. 5 joined lawmakers requesting a transportation fund ‘lockbox’ to ensure funding intended for transportation projects is protected from diversions to non-transportation projects. Furthermore, Rep. Steinberg called for a guaranteed revenue stream to finance the state’s transportation fund. More
Russell McMurry, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, told an audience at the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce Nov. 5 that the state transportation funding bill (passed May 4) has greatly helped in allowing the department to begin work on a backlog of transportation projects, as well as plan for future projects. More
A recent report by the Mineta Transportation Institute released Nov. 10 compared California’s current motor vehicle fuel tax to a proposed road user charge and found no statistically significant difference between the two transportation funding methods. More
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