Alabama Legislature Passes Transportation Funding Formula

By near unanimous votes on April 13, Alabama’s Legislature passed a new transportation funding formula.

SB 180 establishes the Alabama Transportation Safety Fund to collect revenue designated for maintaining, improving, replacing and constructing state, county and municipal roads and bridges in Alabama.

The bill mandates that the first $32 million in transportation revenues derived from a new tax or fee will be divided equally among Alabama’s 67 counties with $500,000 going to each county’s commission exclusively for roads and bridges.

The funding mechanism, HB 394, which calls for a 6-cents-per-gallon increase in gas and diesel taxes, has been passed by the state the House Transportation, Utilities and Infrastructure Committee. It’s expected to reach the House floor shortly and would move to the Senate if the lower chamber concurs with its Transportation Committee.

Gov. Robert Bentley has advocated for a fuel-tax increase.