In the statement, he noted a recent study by the Texas Transportation Institute that cited the high costs of gridlock on the economy. That study said that traffic congestion costs the trucking industry about $27 billion a year in lost time and wasted fuel.
The state’s Senate approved the measure Saturday after the House passed it late last week. The measure was a compromise between the House — which originally wanted to completely eliminate fuel taxes and replace them with a higher sales tax — and the Senate, which wanted to raise fuel taxes.
The bill also will raise the vehicle sales tax to 4% from 3%.
