Transportation Funding
An effective and efficient transportation system is critical
for any successful economy. We have to be able to get goods to market and
people to jobs. In a state like ours, it is critically important that we connect
our rural communities so oil from the Uintah Basin, Green River melons and
Zions National Park tourists can all crisscross the state with a positive
economic impact. Unfortunately the key
component of our transportation funding strategy is not keeping pace with
costs. The gas tax is a constitutionally protected revenue source for roads and
transportation funding. We use a cents per gallon model, which is currently at
24.5 cents and has been at that rate since 1997.
In the seventeen years since the last gas tax increase, our
vehicles have changed dramatically. Hybrids, electrics, CNG and LNG vehicles
have joined the mix while traditional gas fueled vehicles have also become more
fuel-efficient. We travel more road miles than ever before, but we use less gas
to do so which means we collect less in the tax that pays for road construction
and maintenance. It has become an inverse relationship that has shifted more
and more of the funding burden to other parts of the budget at all levels of
government.
This session, the Legislature is assessing what we can
change to more appropriately pair transportation with a funding mechanism or
mechanisms that meets the need. While taxing gas, or any other fuel source,
will likely always be a part of any transportation funding pool, we need to
figure out how to capture revenue from vehicles that use less of the fuel
source, but have equal impact on the roads.
There are a few clear guidelines as the options are assessed. Any changes need to be something that is
uniformly adopted across the state so as not to increase the regulatory or tax
collection burden on retailers. We need options to provide an adequate amount
of transportation that will let us keep pace with repairs but also optimize
movement of goods and people with new construction. The constitutional
protection that ensures the gas tax is preserved for transportation (just like
the protection of income tax for education) is something to explore further as
well. We don’t want to work on a new funding scheme only to see the funds
diverted to other areas of the budget. Finally, this discussion and debate
about transportation needs and funding mechanisms is an important public policy
function that the legislature should revisit at appropriate intervals. Who
knows, some future Legislature may find that a tax on dilithium crystals is a
more appropriate source of funding.
Please stay tuned and chime in as the Legislature continues
this discussion for the next several weeks. This is an important policy
discussion as our fuel sources shifts and expands as we continue to evolve in
the way goods and people get to market.
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