JACKSON — Want better roads? Then pay more at the pump.
That’s been the mantra of Mississippi transportation officials for the past two decades.
Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall, a Republican, is waging a Don Quixote-like campaign to persuade people that Mississippi needs more money to build and maintain roads.
It’s been nearly two decades since Congress last increased the federal gasoline and diesel taxes that pay for highways. It’s been 25 years since Mississippi increased its motor fuel tax, and it may be longer before it happens again.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant says he opposes a gas tax increase because it could hurt small businesses during tough times. He told reporters this past week it would take “extraordinary circumstances” to change his mind.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Joey Fillingane, R-Sumrall, said the prospects of lawmakers voting to increase the gas tax are “very slim to none.”
“At a time when we are in a recession and gasoline prices are already astronomically high, I don’t see any appetite in the Legislature for a gasoline tax increase — or any type of tax increase,” Fillingane said.
Hall acknowledges the opposition and believes it would take a grassroots effort to convince lawmakers to consider a motor fuel tax increase. That’s why Hall has been bringing the issue up lately.
Hall said he was making no recommendation on how much the fuel tax should increase but “I know a nickel (a gallon) would be a great start.”
The cost of road and bridge construction has gone up, and the purchasing power of fuel taxes has declined by more than a third. Revenue is also down, in part, because cars are becoming more fuel-efficient.
With motor fuel taxes tied to consumption, the revenue picture is not good.
In Mississippi, drivers pay state and federal taxes of 37.2 cents per gallon of gasoline and 43.2 cents per gallon of diesel — the seventh and eighth lowest in the nation, respectively.
Mississippi’s excise tax is 18.8 cents per gallon on gasoline and diesel, with 0.4 cents going to an environmental protection fee. In coastal Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties, there is an additional 3 cents per gallon seawall tax.
The federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents for diesel.
The Mississippi Legislature in 1987 approved a four-lane highway construction program funded by higher motor fuel taxes. The Legislature initially promised to repeal the taxes as projects were completed. Instead, lawmakers in 1994 made the tax open-ended and added more miles to the construction program.
Hall and other transportation officials warn that inflation is eating away at the dollars.
“That 18 cents has the buying power of eight cents. That won’t buy much concrete and steel at today’s prices,” Hall said. “We have a $3 billion system and we haven’t done anything to fund maintenance.”
With Congress unwilling to contemplate an increase in the federal gas tax, states are looking for ways to shore up highway programs.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, said he will push for a fuel tax increase next year. Iowa last increased its gasoline taxes in 1989. A citizen panel this year recommended increasing the tax by up to 10 cents a gallon to raise money for road and bridge work, but the proposal failed in the Legislature.
In Michigan, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder says his state needs up to $1.5 billion for transportation infrastructure upgrades. He said the state has several options for new revenues, including vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes.
An Arkansas constitutional amendment that lawmakers have placed on the November ballot will ask voters to approve a temporary half-cent sales tax to fund highways. Legislators approved an increase in the diesel tax last year.
