Road Funding Bill Could Be Dead in Committee

A House committee has removed a bill from its agenda that would increase Division of Motor Vehicle fees and some taxes to help fund road maintenance and construction projects.

During the Tuesday morning meeting, House Finance Chairman Eric Nelson announced to the committee the bill would be taken off of the agenda because the support needed to pass it isn’t there.

As approved in the Senate, the bill would add a trigger to increase the state’s gasoline tax by 3 cents when the wholesale price of a gallon drops below $2, but also generates money for the state road fund through increased taxes and fees.

A House Finance subcommittee of seven members discussed the bill on Friday, and suggested the committee as a whole move forward with caution because of the included increases.

There were two pending amendments to the bill that were suggested by the subcommittee.

It is unclear if the House Finance Committee will put Senate Bill 555 back on the agenda.

The 2016 legislative session ends Saturday, March 12, at midnight with a budget session to follow.