Arizona Bill Under Construction To Double Gas Tax For Road Repairs
Tack another few dollars onto the gas bill at the pump.
That’s the solution Rep. Noel Campbell (R-Prescott) recently proposed for funding old roads and building new ones in Arizona.
In a legislative bill, he plans to ask lawmakers to double the current 18 cent per gallon gas tax. That income source nets about $750 million a year for the state, but Campbell said the rate hasn’t changed since 1991.
"A tax dollar in '91 is worth 47 cents today," he told Capitol Media Services. "We just don't have the money. And, it's a real need for the state. It's not some fluff area that somebody wants to do something with. It is to benefit the economy of the whole state."
Campbell said he expects an uphill fight trying to get fellow lawmakers to agree to a tax hike in the upcoming election year.
Even if it were to pass, Governor Ducey said he has no plans to impose a tax and pointed to an upcoming 23-mile repair of I-17 as a sign that Arizona has all the money it needs for road construction.
