|
House members reject decrease in gas tax
(Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, KY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Mar. 7--FRANKFORT -- Kentucky House members voted Friday to freeze Kentucky's motor fuels tax as part of a broader plan that would devote $1.2 billion to road and bridge projects over the next 15 months.
The road plan now heads to the Senate for its approval.
"I believe it will pass the Senate," Senate President David Williams said, adding that it should clear that chamber by Wednesday. "This road plan and financing package is, in my belief, equitable and it's appropriate and it's responsible."
While the House voted 94-3 to approve the road plan, a major funding component of the plan generated less support but was passed by the chamber.
By a vote of 82-17, House lawmakers backed a proposal to freeze the state's gas tax, and that money will be used to pay for $400 million in bonding to help supplement transportation spending through 2010.
Kentucky's gasoline tax was scheduled to drop from 22.5 cents per gallon to 18.5 cents, but Friday's vote will keep the tax at its current level.
Although both Democrats and Republicans voted for the bill, all of those who voted against it were Republican.
"I do not consider this bill an increase in taxes," Rep. James Comer, a Tompkinsville Republican, said of House Bill 374. "As leaders of government, we must step up to the plate."
The motor fuels tax is tied to the wholesale price of gas, and with that price declining in recent months, the tax was scheduled to drop by 4 cents on April 1.
But House Bill 374 would establish the state's current tax level as the new floor, which means that the tax won't drop next month and moving forward will never decline even if the wholesale price of gas moves even lower.
That goes back on commitments made to constituents that the tax would decline when gas prices fell, said Rep. Stan Lee, a Lexington Republican, in speaking against the bill.
"It was supposed to go down," Lee said. "Now we're wanting to change the promise we made to people. ... This is really the government saying to the taxpayer -- heads we win, tails you lose."
Rep. Harry Moberly, a Richmond Democrat and former head of the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee, defended the tax freeze and said government changes its laws and policies all of the time to address needs.
Moberly and others also argued that even if the state tax dropped by 4 cents, fuel customers likely wouldn't see a difference in prices at the pump.
"This money's not going back to constituents," Moberly said. "It's going to oil customers."
Moberly also responded to comments that a fuel tax decrease is needed now given the current recession by saying that investment in infrastructure is investment in economic development.
"A good transportation system is necessary for jobs," Moberly said. "I think the arguments that have been made here to vote against this are not accurate arguments."
The $1.2 billion plan in House Bill 330 that would govern road and bridge projects through the end of next fiscal year also relies on $400 million in federal stimulus dollars for transportation projects, including a $35 million appropriation for the U.S. 60 bypass extension east of Owensboro.
"We have to be excited," said Sen. David Boswell, a Sorgho Democrat. "The way I see it, we get, and deservedly so, a very substantial part of the road fund money."
Sen. Jerry Rhoads, a Madisonville Democrat and minority whip, said the plan that is heading to his chamber would begin pumping money into local economies.
"That will enable us to create many new jobs and roll a lot of money into our economy," Rhoads said. "I'm pleased that all the counties in my district are going to have roads that have been in the road plan for years."
House Bill 374 and House Bill 330 were both received by the Senate on Friday afternoon, and a hearing on the two bills by the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee is expected Monday or Tuesday.
Owen Covington, 691-7334, ocovington@messenger-inquirer.com
To see more of the Messenger-Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.messenger-inquirer.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
|
TMCnet LOGIN
Webinars
