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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Idaho road funding shortfall moves to center stage

BOISE – Transportation funding moved into the spotlight at the Idaho Legislature on Monday, as legislation was introduced to raise gas taxes and registration fees and the state’s transportation director said if Idaho upped its investment in maintenance, it could eliminate all restricted bridges in the state in 10 years. “It is no secret that Idaho does not have enough funding to support the needs of its aging infrastructure,” Brian Ness, Idaho Transportation Department director, told the Legislature’s joint budget committee. The state has a $543 million annual shortfall in transportation funding, he said, including $262 million more needed just to preserve the system in its current condition. “The department is being squeezed between a revenue shortage and ever-increasing costs,” Ness said. He said if the state eliminated the $262 million annual maintenance shortfall, in 10 years it would have no more load-restricted bridges. If ITD got more money, Ness said, “We would be able to put that money to work immediately.” Just hours later, House Transportation Chairman Joe Palmer, R-Meridian, introduced sweeping legislation to raise gas taxes, registration fees and more to raise nearly $200 million more a year for road funding. Palmer said the bill as written isn’t likely to become law; instead, it’s an effort to get ideas out for public discussion. “They’re just ideas so that people understand what we’re looking at,” Palmer said, including a 8-cent increase next year in Idaho’s 25-cent per gallon gas tax, with additional one-cent increases in subsequent years. Idaho hasn’t raised its gas tax since 1996; the per-gallon tax, the main source of state funding for roads in Idaho, has lost a big chunk of its buying power to inflation and more fuel-efficient vehicles, even as the number of drivers and miles traveled has increased. Palmer’s bill calls for a 50 percent increase in registration fees for cars and 25 percent for trucks; a 12-cent increase in the per-gallon tax on diesel fuel; new annual fees on electric and hybrid cars that use little gas; and a shift of $22 million from Idaho’s general fund to road funds. That kind of shift is exactly what Gov. Butch Otter warned against in his State of the State message to lawmakers at the start of this year’s legislative session, saying the state’s general fund is what goes to pay for education, for which he wants a funding boost next year. “He’s the governor – he can do whatever he wants,” Palmer said. “We’re just putting out options.” Palmer said, “We’re all at the table. … I think everyone needs to be at the table. It’s a pretty important issue.” He added, “I definitely expect more legislation to come out of other committees.” Meanwhile, the Idaho Statesman reported over the weekend that House Republicans are working on a sweeping plan to raise the state’s sales tax a penny to 7 percent while dedicating much of the increase to transportation; eliminate the sales tax on groceries; and dump Idaho’s graduated state income tax brackets in favor of a 6.6 percent flat rate, lowering the rate for top earners while raising it for the lower-income. The idea is to come up with a big boost in transportation funding while also cutting income tax rates for top earners and minimizing impact on the state’s general fund. No legislation has yet been introduced on that. Also on Monday, the House tax committee unanimously endorsed a proposal from a Caldwell senator to exempt materials for public roads from Idaho’s sales tax. The idea behind the measure is that the tax break would lower the bids contractors submit for public road work, allowing the state to do millions more in work each year. Wayne Hammon, head of the Associated General Contractors, told the House committee, “We believe that it’d be a good step forward.” No one spoke against the bill, which cleared the committee unanimously and now moves to the full House. Two other measures were introduced Monday by Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise, to make smaller adjustments to current tax rules to shift more money to road work. Otter has pushed without success for a big increase in road funding since his first term in office, when he made it a top priority. The Legislature rebuffed him in 2008 and 2009, led in part by then-state Rep. Raul Labrador, now a 1st District congressman.