The Transportation Investment Advocacy Center’s third 2015 report on state transportation legislation is now available.

Transportation funding legislation has been considered in 30 states so far this year. TIAC staff have tracked 105 bills introduced in 2015 alone, with over 110 bills currently pending legislative action. Six bills have already been approved this year, totaling approximately $1.085 billion for transportation funding.

Thirteen states— Ga., Idaho, Minn., Mo., Mont., Neb., N.H., N.M., N.J., S.C., Texas, Utah, and Wash.— are currently considering legislation to increase their gas tax or sales tax on gasoline. Three states— Conn., N.H., and Texas— are considering legislation to protect their transportation funds from diversions. Three states— Ark., Mich., and Mo.— have pending legislation to convert the flat-rate excise tax on fuel entirely to a variable-rate tax. Additionally, a bill in Maine proposes indexing the current flat gas tax to the Consumer Price Index. Eight states— Conn., Ga., Maine, Mass., Minn., N.Y., Wash., and Wisc.— have proposed bonds to pay for transportation projects.

Since our last report:

  • Utah lawmakers approved a bill on March 12 to increase the state’s gas tax by 5 cents-per-gallon, add a 12 percent tax on the wholesale price of gasoline, and permit counties to seek voter approval for a 1/4-cent sales and use tax increase for local transportation projects. The legislation awaits Gov. Herbert’s (R) review.
  • S.D. approved on March 17 a 6 cents-per-gallon state gas tax increase, an additional 1 percent to the motor vehicle excise tax, and to raise license plate fees by 20 percent. Counties will also be allowed to increase property taxes for local transportation funding. SB 1 is anticipated to generate over $80 million for state and county highway and bridge investment.
  • Iowa on Feb. 25 approved a 10 cents-per-gallon state gas tax increase, resulting in an estimated $200 million per year for transportation funding.
  • Ky. approved modifications to the state’s variable-rate gas tax , in order to prevent the tax from collecting less then 26 cents-per-gallon, adjust the evaluation period annually (versus quarterly), and restrict the tax from increasing or decreasing more than 10 percent per year.

To read the full report of 2015 proposed transportation funding initiatives, visit the March 2015 State Funding Initiatives Report.

Have we missed any transportation funding bills or states initiating legislative action? Let us know in the comments!