INDIANAPOLIS – With political talk of road funding accelerating, Democrats are calling for an additional $2 billion in spending on highways and bridges.
Their plan, unveiled Monday, siphons the sales tax on gasoline from the state’s general fund and puts the money exclusively to fixing roads and bridges.
“Our plan is based on a simple concept,” said House Minority Leader Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City. “Every tax you pay at your gas station should go to fix your street or highway or bridge.”
Democrats propose spending about $500 million more a year, over the next four years, on state and local roads and bridges.
Pelath calls the plan “bolder, fairer, and more understandable” than a $1 billion road-funding plan unveiled last month by Republican Gov. Mike Pence.
The governor's proposal, coming as he campaigns for re-election next year, taps a combination of reserve funds, new general fund spending and borrowing.
Extra dollars would only go for state-owned highways and bridges.
Pelath concedes that he has no solution for filling the hole that would be created by the Democrats' plan.
But he’s convinced that it has public appeal.
The 7 percent sales tax charged on gasoline purchases now gets pumped into the state's general accounts. Once there, money is used to help pay for public services including local schools and police. Hoosiers buy an estimated 3 billion gallons of gasoline each year.
The House Democrats' plan doubles the money that Pence wants to spend on fixing deteriorating roads and bridges. It also sets aside almost half of the money for local projects.
“It would make sure that locals get a piece of the pie, and it would not take an extra dime out of anyone’s pocket,” Pelath said.
The plan is already getting a lukewarm reception, however, with critics saying it falls short of what’s really needed — a hike in the gasoline excise tax, now at 18 cents a gallon, or some other revenue source.
Transportation experts say the state and its communities face a $1 billion annual shortfall in repair money for roads and bridges.
“I think the idea of utilizing some or all of the sales tax collected on a gasoline is a good idea, however the piece that is missing is how do we fix the hole in the state budget that would be created?” said Matt Greller, executive director of the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns.
Greller wants lawmakers to discuss raising the gasoline excise tax which hasn’t been hiked in more than a decade.
So, too, would the Association of Indiana Counties. Two-thirds of the state's streets and highways are maintained by local governments, which also own 80 percent of Indiana's 1,900 structurally deficient bridges.
“Other states have done it, and they’ve done it in election years,” association head David Borthoff said of a hike in the gas tax.
Pence has already raised a roadblock to that idea, vowing not to raise taxes on his watch. He’ll likely get pushed hard by Republicans who’ve vowed to find a more permanent solution to road funding.
On Monday, House Roads Committee Chairman Ed Soliday, R-Valpraiso, called Pelath’s plan “short-sighted” and said it leaves long-term problems unresolved.