“If not now, when?”
Supporters of an increase in the state’s 20-cent-per gallon gasoline tax are asking members of the Louisiana Legislature that question. Among their number are 34 influential business and economic development groups that are usually no fans of higher taxes of any kind.
If not now, the “when” is 2021, four years down the road. The next fiscal session when taxes can be changed is 2019, a statewide election year when higher taxes are definitely out of the question.
Louisiana roads got a “D” and bridges a “D-plus” grade from the state’s civil engineers this year, and they said both had only gotten worse since similar grades five years ago. Even a “D-plus” grade means the state’s road and bridge systems don’t provide the services intended and are at risk of failure.
The state last raised its gasoline tax by four cents in 1989 (28 years ago) when 16 major projects in the TIMED program were approved. Two of those projects aren’t completed and paying for the other 14 is actually consuming five cents of the 20-cent tax.
The four-laning of U.S. 171 and U.S. 165 were two of those projects that have been completed to the great benefit of those of us who live in this corner of the state. It would not have happened without the higher gasoline tax.
Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge, is sponsor of House Bill 632 that proposes to increase the state gasoline tax by 17 cents per gallon. It would raise $269.7 million the rest of this fiscal year, $551.6 million in 2018-19 and $606.7 million by 2021-22.
The legislation squeaked out of the House Ways and Means Committee with a 9-7 vote, four of those favorable votes coming from tax-shy Republicans on the committee. Three of them — Reps. Paula Davis, Barry Ivey and Clay Schexnayder — are from the Baton Rouge area, which has a national reputation for having the most serious traffic gridlock in the country at the Interstate 10 bridge over the Mississippi River.
Ivey, an archconservative, said an upgrade in a state beset by education, health and other problems would send a message that Louisiana “is growing up a bit.”
Carter’s bill was scheduled to be debated by the full House last week, but the hour was late and he admitted he didn’t have the necessary 70 votes (two-thirds) required to approve the increase. The bill comes up again this Wednesday, which is probably the last chance to get it through the legislative process before a required June 8 session adjournment.
The word over the weekend was that Carter is considering amendments that might make the increase more palatable to additional reluctant Republicans. It’s still going to be a tough sell whatever the changes might be.
Legislators got some valuable advice last week from one of their own — Georgia state Sen. Brandon Beach, a Republican and LSU graduate. Beach is chairman of his state’s Senate Transportation Committee and president and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce.
The Advocate published a guest column by Beach, who said he considers Louisiana his home away from home and has a personal interest in seeing it succeed.
“Georgia and Louisiana similarly have two of the largest state highway systems in the country, each with more than 16,000 state-controlled miles. Both are in deplorable condition, but we are changing that in Georgia,” Beach said.
Beach said Georgia also ignored its transportation system far too long. Miles of highway were crumbling or congested, bridges closed because of deficiencies and the state was losing its economic competitiveness as employers looked elsewhere to locate facilities and jobs.
A Republican governor and GOP Legislature control Georgia, he said, and both decided it was time for bold leadership. It passed the Transportation Funding Act of 2015 that provided more than $900 million a year in dedicated, predictable and sustainable revenue for infrastructure.
“In Georgia, we set partisan politics aside and voted to increase revenue,” Beach said. “There, I said it. We voted in large, bipartisan numbers, to put Georgia first. As a friend of Louisiana, I urge you to do the same.”
Over the last four years, 21 other states have also increased fuel taxes for roads, bridges and other transportation needs. Georgia’s state gasoline tax is 49.5 cents per gallon, the national average.
Currently, 43 states have gasoline taxes higher than Louisiana. The proposed 17-cent increase, with the 18.4-cent federal tax, would make Louisiana’s combined tax 55.4 cents per gallon. A 10-cent increase would make the total tax 48.4 cents, which is just below the national average.
The increase is estimated to cost motorists an average of $120 per year, not a heavy burden on anyone. Even so, Carter isn’t laboring under any misconceptions about the tough selling job he faces this week.
The state’s road and bridge situation is so bad lawmakers, if never before or never again, are going to have to show tremendous political courage this week and do the right thing — approve the increase. That is what true representative government is supposed to be about.
Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than five decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jbeam@americanpress.com.
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