Voters in Missouri, Utah, and Washington rejected state ballot measures on Tuesday that would have added new taxes on fuel or energy use by fleet vehicles, while California voters elected to keep increased fuel taxes in place to fund the state's infrastructure.
It’s a bumpy ride in the city – and getting bumpier, according to a new report on the deteriorating state of America’s urban roads.
California's Legislature has voted to extend the state's cap-and-trade program through 2030, which could result in an increase to the gasoline tax and would codify the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) into law.
A bill to raise fuel taxes that could bring in $5.2 billion a year has advanced through the California legislature and needs only to be signed by Gov. Jerry Brown before going into effect.
Aiming to address both the lack of funding for the Highway Trust Fund and the lack of trust in finding a long-term solution for that, Rep. Tim Rice (R-SC) has introduced a bill that would hike federal motor-fuel taxes by 10.1 cents per gallon and index the new rate to inflation.
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. House Thursday would index the current federal gasoline and diesel fuel taxes to inflation, raising $27.5 billion to ensure highway-infrastructure spending is funded for exactly 1.7 years.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster argued that both Congress and President Obama lack the political will to increase federal fuel taxes to pay for funding the next highway bill.
As state governments seek the best avenues to fund their highway infrastructure spending this year, many governors and legislators are looking closely at where making changes to motor-vehicle fuel taxation may get them.
Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that one of his 2015 priorities will be a highway bill – but he does not expect it to be funded by a fuel tax increase, the AP reported.
The California Board of Equalization (BOE) will consider lowering the excise tax rate for gasoline by 3.5 cents at an upcoming meeting, a move that's not guaranteed to lower prices at the pump.
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