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Would a decline in federal highway funding make a fuel tax hike inevitable?
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Forget potholes, it’s the looming “transportation cliff” in federal highway funding that makes a state motor fuel tax increase inevitable, a key player in that debate said last week.
“That was a real eye-opener. Pretty sobering,” House Transportation Committee Chairman Josh Byrnes, R-Osage, said about projections of a 77 percent decline in federal highway funding in 2015.
Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino III has been making the rounds at the Legislature to warn lawmakers that the state’s $215 million shortfall in funding to meet current “critical needs” will be compounded by the decrease in federal funds.
Although Trombino did not advocate for increasing the state fuel tax, Brynes said the director “gave us compelling evidence how necessary an increase is.”
“We won’t bite this off in one year,” he said, “but when you look at the numbers, it’s got to be inevitable.”
Do you agree? Would the “transportation cliff” essentially require the state to consider a motor fuel tax increase?
No doubt the Republicans would rather cut roads and highways than to raise taxes.
Perhaps a fuel tax increase can easily be avoided with a few more speeding cameras.
Why is there going to be a 77 percent decline in federal highway funding? What’s happening to the federal highway trust fund? Has here been a reduction in the federal gasoline tax that I’m not aware of?