There must be no hike in the gasoline tax

Foster's Daily Democrat uses its editorial page to make the case against raising the gas tax:

The House has proposed a hike of 15 cents in the gasoline tax, a levy that presently stands at 19.6 cents per gallon. The House wants to burn the state's motorists and businesses affected by the gas tax with a 76.5 percent jump in the levy.

The House is either out of touch with the reality of today's economy or it simply does not care. Whichever it is, the Senate ought to reject the proposal without hesitation and the voters' eyes should be tightly focused on the call of the roll when it is taken.

In what kind of make-believe world does the House live? What kind of leadership exists in what is sometimes called the lower chamber?

Lynch Comes Out Against Gas Tax

In the past, NH Watchdog has criticized Governor John Lynch for downshfiting the cost of the stat budget onto cities and towns, threatening the New Hampshire bond rating by borrowing money for operational costs, and for using highway spending gimmicks.

So we're happy to praise the Governor when he has not only gotten out in front of an issue, but made the right decision, according to Norma Love's AP article in the Union Leader:

Gov. John Lynch said Friday he would veto the state budget if it contained a gas tax increase.

Lynch said he told legislative leaders he would not accept the 15 cent tax increase passed by the House and under consideration in the Senate. Lynch and lawmakers are at odds over how to fund badly needed repairs and maintenance to the state's highways and bridges.

"In very difficult economic times, the last thing we should do is increase the gas tax," he said.

Lynch's announcement makes it much less likely that the Legislature will pass a gas tax, which is good news. It also makes it more likely that it will adopt some of Lynch's bad ideas, such as toll increases and a raid on the Turnpike Fund.

Spending the Stimulus- Transportation

Grant Bosse reports on how New Hampshire is spending the transportation portion of the federal stimulus package, and efforts to increase highway spending in the future:

House backs $200M in higher taxes

On the Union Leader's online page, Tom Fahey summarizes some of the new taxes approved by the New Hampshire House this afternoon:

The tax changes are expected to raise $202.5 million over the next two years to support government operations. The gas tax increase should bring in another $125 million, with $37 million of it headed to cities and towns for upkeep of local roads.

Rep. Marjorie Smith, D-Durham, chair of the House Finance committee, said the tax package does not include a broad-based tax, such as sales or income tax.

“It is the best mix we could come up with of revenues that will not bring harm to our economy or our neighbors,” Smith said.

Rep. Neal Kurk, R-Weare, criticized the tax plan and the budget. “We have adopted a budget that spends more than we can afford within our existing tax structure, and the response has been to raise taxes to pay for higher spending,” he said.

Democrats argued that in a deep recession in 1990, Republicans raised and created a series of taxes.

”What we have all day long … is ‘Do as I say, not as I did’,” majority floor leader Rep. Daniel Eaton, D-Stoddard, said, prompting a few boos.

Republicans tried to kill each of the tax measures, but were beaten back each time by the Democratic majority.

Legislative Round Up: Gas Tax Hike Approved

The State House Press Corps all report on yesterday's action in the House, raising the gas tax by 15-cents per gallon, and leaving the EZ Pass discount in place.

Tom Fahey in the Union Leader:

The measure, which passed 190-162, will raise an estimated $111 million a year for the state highway fund by the time the full 15-cent increase takes effect. Diesel fuel will see the same 15-cent increase, but the three hikes will be spread out until 2013 to ease the effect on truckers. The bill calls for the first five-cent increase to hit on July 1.

The House rejected, 181-161, a move to cap all E-ZPass bills at 33 uses per month, and cut in half the 30 percent discount that E-ZPass owners now enjoy.

Opponents of the bill, HB 670, said those who use the turnpikes most often should bear the highest cost of upkeep and improvements.

Lauren Dorgan in the Concord Monitor:

Bill sponsor David Campbell said that as the costs of construction have spiraled in recent years, the state has dramatically cut back on roadwork, from paving more than 500 miles a year in the mid-1990s to 260 miles this year out of the 4,300 miles of state roads. The bill, he said, would double the state's paving projects.

At the current rate, "you're not going to be repaving the roads, you're going to be rebuilding the roads at a much, much greater cost," said Campbell, a Nashua Democrat who is vice chairman of the House Public Works and Highways Committee. He added: "If we keep kicking this can down the road, eventually the can itself is going to disintegrate."

Kevin Landrigan in the Nashua Telegraph:

"This is the least painful, fairest and most complete way to solve the problem, not for just two years but for 10 years,'' said state Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, the sponsor of the gas increase measure.

But House Republican Leader Sherman Packard said any increase will hurt families struggling in this economy, and the bill would cost the average trucker up to $1,000 more a year.

"Now is not the time to hit the people who can barely afford to put gas in their car,'' Packard said.

Editorial Roundup

The Union Leader offers three perspectives on the state's budget crunch on this morning's editorial page.

First, Marie Harris pens a column on the importance of arts funding at the state level:

Leaving aside for a moment the incalculable effects of literature, music, theater, dance, visual art and craft on our personal lives and the lives of our children, consider the considerable leverage a single dollar spent on the arts exerts on overall job creation.

Arts organizations are the source of innumerable skilled and unskilled jobs. They attract audiences to our cities and towns, creating a demand for dozens of support industries from communication and design services to transportation to hospitality to equipment and supplies. And there are many opportunities for technologically related arts jobs in the future in a myriad of e-businesses. Artists themselves are independent small businesspeople whose activities benefit the economy.

The lead editorial argues against raising gas taxes on New Hampshire drivers:

The state gas tax is 18 cents per gallon. House Bill 644 would raise that by 15 cents to 33 cents a gallon over the next two years. New Hampshire would go from having the lowest gas tax of all of its neighbors to having the highest. (We cannot assume that proposed gas taxes in Massachusetts and Vermont will pass.)

Supposedly, New Hampshire cannot pay for all its needed road repairs and maintenance without that extra 15 cents per gallon. Yet the state diverts tens of millions of dollars a year from its highway fund for other purposes, then whines that the highway fund runs out too quickly.

And finally, the editorial page says that drivers with EZ Pass should pay the same as those without:

With widespread adoption of E-ZPass, the justification for the discount is no longer so strong. Why should people who have E-ZPass pay less than people who don't when both produce the same amount of wear on the toll roads?

Telegraph Backs Gas Tax Increase

The Nashua Telegraph this morning comes out in favor of raising New Hampshire's gas tax in order to boost revenues into the Highway Fund:

There's no single answer to the problem, which, if roads must be plowed and salted less often and maintenance delayed, threatens public safety.

But the seriousness of the shortfall means that for the first time since 1992, the governor and Legislature should increase the gas tax.

Is the Gas Tax Outdated?

Mark Sanborn is counselor at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and a New Hampshire native. He writes in this morning's Union Leader that the gas tax is no longer a viable way to pay for highways, and proposes a new approach:

There is another way. We must create a transportation network that applies the concepts of supply and demand, including the use of pricing or tolling. While tolling is not a new concept in the Granite State, pricing is. Dynamic pricing means charging a fee, based on demand, on high-use roads. "Double taxation" can be avoided by making it unnecessary to use gas taxes for maintenance of that road.

Public-private partnerships are another option being embraced by states facing funding shortfalls. This does not involve selling public assets, but rather leasing highways to private companies for a fee and allowing the companies to collect money from highway users. The company is able to operate the highway more efficiently, while the state can leverage the funds to pay for infrastructure improvements elsewhere.

Gas Tax Trial Balloon still floating

Tom Fahey reports in the Union Leader that Governor John Lynch is giving the idea of raising New Hampshire's gas tax a lukewarm reception:

Lawmakers from both parties say the state needs to increase its gasoline tax to keep highways maintained, but Gov. John Lynch is not convinced of that yet.

Lynch said this week he hasn't changed his stance against a gas tax hike, but he left room to be persuaded it is the right move.

He said the state needed to figure out how much highway work needed to be done and how much it would cost before talking about raising revenue. He noted a federal economic stimulus package was expected to send money for highway and bridge construction to all states.

"That may be part of the overall financing package going forward," Lynch said.

Gas Tax on the Horizon?

With gas prices dropping under $2 a gallon for the first time in over three years, maybe New Hampshire drivers are willing to pay higher gas taxes. Maybe not. But some lawmakers are turning to the gas pump to try to replenish a Highway Trust Fund depleted by spending on other agencies and drivers staying home this summer.

The Concord Monitor reports on two Representatives who see higher gas taxes as the only way to pay for roads:

Rep. David Campbell, who has chaired this year's committee to study the highway fund, has said he will sponsor a gas-tax-increase bill. He said he hasn't sorted out all the details - including how big a raise he'll support - because it's not clear how much federal aid the state will receive. But, he said, he's come to believe that cutting alone won't right the road budget.

"At some point you can't cut the highway fund any more," said Campbell, who is not related to the transportation commissioner. "Are you going to cut winter salt? Are you going to cut snowplowing? Are you going to cut paving?"

Campbell, a Nashua Democrat, said he has backing from both sides of the political aisle.

"It's something that I'm hopeful the leadership of both parties, in both parties, can get behind," he said. "If they don't, I want them, whoever they are, to answer for the consequences if we don't do it. Show me where we're going to cut."

Rep. Candace Bouchard, a Concord Democrat who chairs the Public Works and Highways Committee, said she will support Campbell's bill.

"I'm pretty hopeful that people will understand the need to maintain our transportation system," Bouchard said. "I think we need to make our argument and show everyone that we've done our homework."

New Hampshire drivers currently pay 38 cents per gallon in gas taxes, 19.4 cents to New Hampshire, and 18.4 cents to Washington.