 - Two local lawmakers voted in favor of an amended bill draft this week that would have increased the state fuel tax by 5 cents, generating approximately $22.5 million to support the underfunded Wyoming Department of Transportation.){kind=link}
(Cheyenne, WY) – Two local lawmakers voted in favor of an amended bill draft this week that would have increased the state fuel tax by 5 cents, generating approximately $22.5 million to support the underfunded Wyoming Department of Transportation.
The proposal failed in a 5-7 vote during a Monday meeting of the Wyoming Legislature’s Transportation, Highways, and Military Affairs Committee in Cheyenne, with Wyoming Reps. Lloyd Larsen, R-Lander, and Ivan Posey, D-Fort Washakie, voting “ay.”
Wyoming Sen. Ed Cooper, R-Ten Sleep, whose district covers a portion of Fremont County, is also a member of the Transportation Committee, but he was not present for the vote and was marked “excused.”
$400 million
Even if it had passed, Wyoming Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, pointed out that the proposed fuel tax increase wouldn’t have generated enough money to cover WYDOT’s estimated $400 million funding deficit.
“This (was) only raising, for WYDOT, what, $4.7 million per penny – not a lot of money,” he said. “It’s a chip at it. …
“If we don’t find a mechanism that raises a lot of money, then it’s going to be up to us – it’s going to be a general fund (expense).”
Unfortunately, Pappas said, “we don’t like all of these other mechanisms that would raise a lot of money” – like highway tolls, for example, or road usage charges – so it’s been “very difficult (to) figure out where we’re going to find funding to put towards our roads.”
Kelli Little, the Government Affairs Director for the Associated General Contractors of Wyoming, agreed that the proposed fuel tax increase – which her organization supported – only would have represented a “move of the needle” toward addressing the state highway system’s “funding shortfall.”
“Fuel taxes are becoming less and less effective in keeping pace with maintaining transportation systems,” Little said. “So, we really see this (proposal) as a temporary stopgap measure.”
Moving forward, she said her group is committed to working with state and local officials “to find modern and novel ways of funding the (highway) system for the benefit and enjoyment of all who live, work, and visit our state.”
“Our members are generally supportive of adequate and appropriate investment in our state’s transportation infrastructure,” she said. “Our roads are the lifeblood of Wyoming’s economy, and every business and citizen relies on a safe, well-maintained transportation system.”
Wyoming Trucking Association President Kevin Hawley also spoke in favor of the fuel tax increase this week, echoing the idea that “we have to keep chipping away” at WYDOT’s funding deficit so the agency has “the tools and resources” to maintain state roadways.
“The board of the (WTA) recognizes the critical role that WYDOT plays in our lives and economy,” Hawley said. “And while no one likes paying more taxes, the board voted unanimously to support this bill as presented.”
Wind River Intertribal Council Department of Transportation Director Winslow Friday supported the legislative proposal, too, and he asked about the potential to include tribal representatives “in the discussion for the fuel tax” moving forward.
“We maintain 2,000 miles of road on the Wind River Reservation and only receive a small fraction of maintenance funds from the tribal transportation program,” Friday explained. “I would like (to) get a dialogue started with this committee and the tribes to include the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes in some way, shape, or form to receive some kind of compensation for maintaining our public routes within Wind River.”
The Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association – including WPMA Board Member Mike Bailey of Riverton – offered testimony about the potential impacts of a fuel tax increase during this week’s meeting, but the group did not speak for or against the legislative proposal.
WPMA lobbyist Jonathan Downing did, however, acknowledge that “we depend on the roads,” and “when road maintenance goes down, maintenance costs go up for companies – for trucking fleets.”
“So it’s a balance,” he said. “Do you want to pay it up front, or do you want to pay it on the back end? It’s not our place to decide which way is the better way. It’s your place.”