Tagged: gas tax

The Wyoming Senate has given initial approval to a bill that would increase the gas tax by $.10 per-gallon. 

A bill that would raise the gas tax by ten cents has passed the House Revenue Committee. Revenue from the increased taxes would fund highway construction and maintenance throughout the state, a sector that’s currently underfunded.

Chairman of the House Revenue Committee, Michael Madden, says the measure is supported by many groups.

"About every engine that makes our economy run, we had strong support for this bill. And the overall gist of the thing was that Wyoming runs on roads and it’s too important of an asset to watch deteriorate. "

A Wyoming legislative committee is set to hear a proposal to raise fuel taxes.

The House Revenue Committee is meeting this morning in Cheyenne to consider a bill that would hike fuel taxes by a dime. The tax would increase from 14 cents to 24 cents a gallon on gasoline.

Gov. Matt Mead is pushing the tax increase. He says it would raise more than $70 million a year for state and local road projects.

The governor says increasing gasoline taxes would allow out-of-state motorists to foot much of the bill for maintaining the state's highway system.

Wyoming Speaker of the House Tom Lubnau says it is time that the state raise the gas tax.  Lawmakers will consider legislation this session that will increase the gas tax by ten cents a gallon. 

During his opening remarks to the House of Representatives, Lubnau says the time has come to pay for Wyoming’s roads.

The Wyoming Legislature is set to convene at noon today for the first day of its general session, which is set to run through early March.
 
Lawmakers generally take care of housekeeping matters on the first day and won't get down to business until after Gov. Matt Mead delivers his annual state of the state address tomorrow morning.
 

In the last several years, states have received fewer federal dollars for highways.  During the energy boom the legislature made up for the shortfall by providing periodic funding for construction and maintenance.

But the Wyoming Department of Transportation wants long term and stable funding.  After spending the summer looking at the issue, a legislative committee could only agree on one substantial plan, a ten cent increase in the state gas tax.  Wyoming Public Radio’s Bob Beck has more.

This week the Legislature’s Joint Revenue committee agreed to submit a bill to the legislature that would increase the gas and diesel tax by ten cents a gallon, raising the tax to 24 cents.  The money would go to the Wyoming Department of Transportation and local governments to pay for road construction.  

Due to decreases in federal funding, the legislature has been forced to find other money to pay for roads. But with the downturn in energy prices, less money will be available in the future.