Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson: Gas Tax Fairest Way To Pay For Roads

As the full state Legislature prepares to take up the state budget, Wisconsin’s transportation secretary continues to push for a gas tax increase to fix the state’s roads, calling it the “fairest and most sustainable” way to generate money for road projects.

“The increase we would have proposed would have cost each driver less than $4 a month — more depending on how much you drive. The gas tax, in the near term, is very sustainable. It’s in place and costs us less than 1 percent administrative costs to collect,” said Transportation Secretary Craig Thompson told WPR Monday.

Republicans controlling the Legislature’s budget committee have rejected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed 8-cent-per-gallon gas tax hike. Instead, they have moved forward with a plan to increase fees when people buy or register a vehicle.

Vehicle title fees would rise by $95 and registration fees by $10 under their proposal, which still needs approval from the Legislature and Evers’ signature.

The Legislature is unlikely to back a gas tax hike without budget committee support, Thompson said, even though it’s traditionally how transportation has been funded.

Since 2013, 31 states have raised gas taxes, according to National Conference of State Legislatures.

But Republicans and other critics of a gas tax increase say its becoming a less attractive way to raise funds because of more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The condition of Wisconsin’s roads was an issue Evers campaigned on and it’s an issue the GOP is paying attention to. In addition to fee increases, Republicans want to use another $90 million from the state’s general fund to pay for road projects, bringing the total new funding to $484 million.

“In general we’re listening to our constituents who all over this state said, ‘Fix these damn roads,’” said Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, earlier this month. “They feel like their roads are deteriorating, and they want us to address rehab.”

Republicans on the budget committee approved about $200 million less for transportation than what Evers wanted but borrowing was roughly the same, at about $326 million, which would be the lowest in years.