Little: ‘We really do need this’

Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who is chairing the governor’s transportation funding task force, says it could well be that a gas tax hike - which Gov. Butch Otter failed to convince state lawmakers to impose despite two years of pleas - could end up being the task force’s recommendation, or a big piece of it. “When you look at the rankings … it ranked highest in fairness and cost-effectiveness, and it’s ready to go. You’re not hiring one state employee. We know it’s imperfect, particularly when a Chevy Volt gets 80 mpg,” Little said. But, he said,  Otter instructed the task force that “everything’s on the table.” Little said, “I think we’ve got our arms around what we think the needs are going to be. This is a big deal - you’ve got to put in a long-term plan to implement it. Having a credible messenger that comes and says, ‘We really need this,’ that’s a big part of it. We really do need this.”