Rep. Monks: General fund growth should help underwrite transportation

Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, told the Senate Transportation Committee, “I’m happy to pitch another transportation idea out there and see what we can do to help combat some of the shortfalls there with our transportation funding.” He said, “Fuel tax, really it’s a dying tax. We can keep raising it up, and it’s not going to be enough.” Instead, Monks said the state should look at growth in the general fund as a source for transportation funding. The state’s general fund, which comes largely from sales and income taxes, is what funds education, prisons, Health & Welfare, and all other state government programs and services.

Monks explained the two general-fund shifts HB 310 envisions: Taking the $16 million in gas tax money that now helps fund the Idaho State Police, and shifting it to road work, leaving the difference to be made up by the general fund; and doing a conditional “fourth-third” shift, as some lawmakers have called it, using the mechanism that now triggers transfers to the Budget Stabilization Fund, the state’s main rainy-day account. Currently, when state general fund revenues grow by at least 4 percent, an automatic shift of 1 percent of revenues goes to the stabilization fund. Under 310, when that occurs, an additional third of that amount would also shift from the general fund to transportation, without decreasing the amount going to the stabilization fund. If the 4 percent threshold isn’t met, no shift would occur.