Illinois lawmakers approved a bill on Dec. 7 to release already-collected fuel taxes to fund local road work, as the revenue is intended. The bill also includes an increase in winter maintenance funds to local governments are able to manage snow and inclement weather. The state has withheld these funds since July 1, when a budget agreement was not met prior to the end of the fiscal year. More

Connecticut lawmakers returned Dec. 8 for a special session, during which a measure to create a transportation fund ‘lockbox’ to protect revenue from diversions to non-transportation purposes was considered. The Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill, but a House vote of 100-40 in favor of the bill was 14 votes shy of the three-quarters majority required to send the measure to the November 2016 ballot. Lawmakers must pass the measure again during the 2016 legislative session. If approved in the General Assembly, the proposal will appear before voters during the 2018 gubernatorial election. More

Testing a vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) program was one of the ideas raised to generate new transportation revenue during a Washington State Transportation Commission meeting held Dec. 8. If lawmakers choose to act on the recommendation, the state could see a pilot program beginning as early as 2017. More

A new ARTBA report released Dec. 1 found that a $600 million annual increase in transportation revenue in Minnesota would grow the state’s economic output by $1.45 billion and create 12,238 jobs.  More

In local news:

  • The City Council of Peoria, Illinois, approved a 3 cents-per-gallon local gas tax increase on Dec. 8. More
  • Cass County, Minnesota, on Dec. 1 adopted a half-cent sales tax to fund transportation projects. The tax will last for ten years and is anticipated to generate $1 million annually. More

Did you miss our Dec. 7 webinar, “Beating Gas Tax Rhetoric from the Right?” Don’t worry- you can now view the recording online! More