A proposal to raise Vermont’s gas tax in an effort to bolster funding for municipal road improvements has generated buzz in the Statehouse this week.
But the leaders of the House and Senate transportation committees said Friday that they don’t plan on taking up the legislation, meaning it will face a steep path forward in the Legislature this session.
Rep. Kari Dolan, D-Waitsfield, is proposing a bill that would raise the gasoline tax by four cents per gallon for five years, and which received backing from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, an interest group that represents all of the state’s municipalities.
The hike in the tax would generate an additional $10 million for municipal roads each year.
But Curt McCormack, D-Burlington, the chair of the House transportation committee, said that while he personally supports the proposed tax increase, he doesn’t plan on discussing the legislation this year.
He suspects that about half of his committee would oppose it, and said that he was also discouraged by Gov. Phil Scott, who said Thursday that he was not in favor of increasing the levy.
“I just don’t see it getting legs,” McCormack said.
Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle, who chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, said that an increase in the gas tax would be off the table this year.
However, he said his committee was discussing levying a new tax on electric and or natural gas vehicles, which could be used, in part, to help towns with road repairs.
McCormack and Scott also said they would support new taxes on alternative energy vehicles.
Dolan decided to pitch an increase in the gas tax after hearing from constituents who wanted to see increased state funding to improve local road conditions. Such improvements are otherwise by funded by local property taxes.
Seven Days first reported on Dolan’s plan earlier this week.
Supporters of raising the gas tax argue that as municipal infrastructure crumbles and state dollars for town roadway aid haven’t increased in about a decade, the state needs to prioritize paying for local repair projects.
Vermonters pay 30 cents per gallon state tax and 18.4 cents federal tax on each gallon of regular gasoline. Taxes on diesel fuel are 32 cents state and 24.2 cents federal.
In its budget proposal for the next fiscal year, the Scott administration allocated about $63 million for municipal road improvements.
Dolan said Friday that while her proposal would mean paying slightly more at the pump, allowing municipalities to repair their roads would save drivers much more by preventing damage to their vehicles.
“This bill is about helping municipalities and it’s an important way and it’s an inexpensive way to provide funding for municipalities to make their roads safe,” Dolan said Friday.
“This is about public safety. It’s also about saving drivers costs.”
Karen Horn, a lobbyist for the Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said that she wasn’t shocked to hear that the gas tax proposal has received a cool reception so far.
“We’re not surprised,” she said. “But I think that we have a responsibility to raise the issue that there’s insufficient funding for local transportation needs and something needs to change.”
The last time Vermont raised its gas tax was in 2013, when the Legislature approved a 6 percent increase.
Rep. Pat Brennan, R-Colchester, the former chair of the House Transportation Committee, who supported the last tax hike, said he didn’t support the proposal this time around.
He argued that municipalities should do a better job funding their own roadway repairs, by securing grants, for example.
“We can’t raise the gas tax every time we get in trouble,” he said.
