Edit: Opportunity Knocks For Otter

Until now, timing has not been Idaho Gov. C.L. (Butch) Otter’s friend. When he tried to shore up Idaho’s highway and bridge network with registration fee and fuel tax increases in 2008, the price of gasoline was hitting $4 a gallon - and $5 a gallon was not out of the picture. Lawmakers resisted before offering him the modest package that included a 3-cent boost in Idaho’s 25-cent-a-gallon fuel tax. Otter said no. The following year, the price of gas was down, but that was because the national economy was imploding. Again, it was hardly the time to hit consumers with a tax hike and Idaho’s conservative Legislature refused to follow Otter’s lead. Four years ago, Otter’s own task force concluded the state was falling about $262 million short of meeting its highway and bridge maintenance needs. The governor spent his second term avoiding the issue while he prepared to win his third term. Now he has his opening/ Marty Trillhaase , Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Should the state of Idaho raise gas taxes to help pay for road/bridge upgrade?