A highway advocacy group is launching a bid to raise Louisiana’s gasoline tax by 10 cents per gallon, despite huge political hurdles.
In addition, the coalition of highway contractors and others wants lawmakers to offer voters a $3 billion bond issue to trim the state’s $12.8 billion backlog of road and bridge projects.
“We know this is an uphill climb but we believe that people want and demand a better highway system,” said Mike Bruce, chairman of Driving Louisiana Forward, which is pushing the two proposals.
Bruce said his group plans to start meeting with chambers of commerce, community leaders and others statewide to gauge interest.
Key lawmakers said the two-part package has virtually no chance of winning legislative support, especially amid tight finances and with 2011 being an election year.
“It is going to be extremely hard to accomplish,” said state Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Joe McPherson, D-Woodworth.
State Sen. Dale Erdey, R-Livingston and vice chairman of the panel, agreed.
“Obviously this is not a good time to initiate anything in terms of additional taxation,” Erdey said.
Driving Louisiana Forward is made up largely of highway contractors, consulting engineers and material suppliers.
Bruce, who is managing principal with ABMB Engineers, Inc., in Baton Rouge, is chairman of the 12- member board.
Louisiana’s road and bridge needs have sparked studies, reports and arguments for months without any answers.
Last year, four legislative committees studied the issue, but failed to come up with a plan to pay for improvements.
Bruce said a big selling point of his group’s plan is that the proposals would be put in a form that requires the support of two thirds of the House and Senate and a majority of voters.
“Both would go to the people,” he said.
“That is a key element,” he added.
“We are not saying we want the Legislature or Governor’s Office to shove this down the people’s throat,” Bruce said.
“If the people want highways, let’s give them an option,” he said.
The group envisions paying the borrowing costs of a $3 billion bond issue by boosting car and truck registration fees, commercial and public, by about $200 million per year.
The cost for private vehicles would rise from $15 to $75.
Bruce said construction sparked by the bond issue would generate 84,000 jobs.
Motorists in Louisiana pay 38.4 cents per gallon now.
The state’s share is 20 cents. Of that, 16 cents pay for rank-and-file projects and 4 cents are dedicated to 16 projects that voters approved two decades ago.
Bruce also made the same point that highway advocates often make – the 16 cents portion last changed in 1984 has the buying power of 7.2 cents now because of inflation and other factors.
“We are trying to get back to where we were,” he said.
The plan would also link the entire state gasoline tax to the consumer price index.
Backers said that as ballot measures, the proposals would not require the signature of Gov. BobbyJindal, who has repeatedly said he opposes tax or fee hikes to address state funding problems.
Asked for comment, Jindal’s office issued a prepared statement and referred the topic to Sherri LeBas, secretary for the state Department of Transportation and Development.
LeBas said the state has reduced its roads backlog from about $14 billion to $12.8 billion in recent years, and is spending about $775 million this year for highway capital outlay.
She said state transportation officials might be interested in issuing bonds for existing highway dollars as a way to speed construction.
Kyle Plotkin, press secretary for Jindal, said in the written statement that the governor reshuffled $120 million earlier this year to speed work on a dozen projects.
That list includes replacement of the Magnolia Bridge that connects East Baton Rouge and Livingston parishes.
Rob Guidry, president and chief executive officer of the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, said Friday that while highway needs warrant discussion “there is so much angst with the economy that citizens seem to be wary of government.”
Other Baton Rouge area lawmakers involved in road debates, while also saying the topic needs discussion, criticized the tax and bond plan.
State Rep. Bodi White, R-Central, said he just paid $2.79 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.
“It is a very tall hill to climb,” White said of any push to increase the gasoline tax. State Rep. Eddie Lambert, R-Prairieville, agreed.
“In today’s climate increasing taxes, with as much as people are paying, is just not going to go anywhere,” he said.