Other states looking for funding sources for their state police - to replace gas tax money - have tried a variety of approaches, a legislative task force heard today. Ohio formed a task force that recommended various fee increases, and the General Assembly and governor approved several to the tune of $93 million a year. Oregon spent nearly three decades hunting for a dedicated funding source for its state police, looking at everything from beer and wine taxes to car insurance surcharges; it hasn't settled on one, and they're still funded from the state's general fund. Pennsylvania is looking at charging fees to cities for state police services. And then there's Virginia, which decided to target the worst drivers with very high fines rather than raise the gas tax on everyone; the result, in which a speeding ticket or wrong turn signal could net a $1,050 fine, caused a huge public outcry and part of it was challenged in court.

Legislative budget analyst Paul Headlee said the trend among states seems to be to steer clear of large gas tax increases in favor of a patchwork of smaller steps. As of 2007, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported that fewer than a third of states had raised their gas taxes in the past decade. "What I found is this patchwork approach, this reluctance to do large increases in the gas tax or registration fees," said Headlee, who briefed a legislative task force on his findings. Idaho lawmakers just approved an increase in an array of motor vehicle fees this year, from driver's license fees to title fees. "We've kinda played that card," Headlee said.

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