Frasure Seeks to Lower Gas Tax
A four cent tax was enacted in 1996 at the urging former Gov. Phil Batt, who said existing fuel tax revenues had been severely eroded by inflation. Passage was pushed along by flooding that year that caused significant highway damage.
"The emergency is over," Frasure said.
The state determined in 1994 that 37 percent of Idaho's roads were deficient. Almost half those roads now have been fixed, Frasure claimed.
And with a cash infusion of $77 million from the federal government's new Transportation Equity Act, passed through Congress last year by then Sen. Dirk Kempthorne and Sen. Larry Craig, Frasure said he feels the time is right to repeal the tax.
But the Transportation Department says it already has figured those funds into its budget. And half the tax Frasure has targeted goes directly to local governments, providing some property tax relief statewide.
"There are projects for every dollar we received and there are more that are awaiting funding," Department spokesman Jeff Stratten said. Reducing the tax will force the department to make changes in its budget, Stratten said.
Repeal of the tax has met with mixed reactions from both the House and Senate. New Republican Gov. Dirk Kempthorne does not support the measure.
"The governor appreciates the open dialogue with Senator Frasure, but because of the success of (the Transportation Equity Act) and the backlog of projects on Idaho highways, he cannot be supportive of the legislation," Kempthorne spokesman Mark Snider.
Idaho's gas tax, at 26 cents per gallon, currently is one of the highest in the nation. Other financial aspects of state vehicle operation, however, even out the cost of maintaining a vehicle in Idaho, according to various statistical measures.
