Legislative support grows for 10-cent Iowa gas tax hike

DES MOINES - A top state lawmaker said Thursday that all other options have been explored and exhausted, and it is time after 26 years to increase Iowa's gas tax to raise more money for road construction projects.

A panel of five House lawmakers on Thursday unanimously approved a 10-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase.

The move follows the same action taken Wednesday by a panel of three senators.

'We are now at the point where we have to lead. It's time,” said Rep. Josh Byrnes, R-Osage, chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

The proposals will be taken up next week by the full transportation committees.

The state is attempting to generate new revenue to cover the estimated $215 million annual shortfall for road construction. States nationwide are dealing with the issue as vehicles become more fuel-efficient, people drive less and federal road funding decreases.

A group of top lawmakers from both parties and Gov. Terry Branstad have proposed the 10-cent gas tax increase, which is expected to generate more than $200 million annually.

Supporters say the gas tax is the most fair and equitable way to generate funds for road construction.

Those who attended Thursday's meeting to support the gas tax increase included groups representing cities, counties, truck drivers and construction and contract workers.

'Safe and efficient infrastructure is incredibly important to our agricultural economy and to Iowa's economy as a whole,” said Matt Steinfeld, an Iowa Farm Bureau lobbyist. 'Increasing the fuel tax is the most equitable way to meet those needs.”

Opponents say the state should find the money elsewhere in the state budget and reprioritize road projects.

Groups opposing the gas-tax increase Thursday included the taxpayer watchdog Iowans for Tax Relief, a representative of the state's convenience stores and the conservative advocacy group Americans for Prosperity.

'To say that we don't have the dollars in the general fund, to do so is to say that every other expenditure of state government is of equal or greater value than roads and bridges. We believe roads and bridges should be a top priority of the state,” Americans for Prosperity state director Drew Klein said. 'This (proposal), in our opinion, is a short-term fix to a long-term problem.”

Byrnes and his fellow House Republicans have repeatedly said they will not commit one-time funding to ongoing needs. Byrnes noted that roughly four of every five state general fund dollars are spent on education, health care and state employee wages and benefits and warned against creating a debate that pits roads and bridges against students or health care.

'I will not support any suggestion that takes money from the general fund,” Byrnes said. 'I absolutely will not slice that pie up any further.”

Byrnes and other supporters of the gas-tax increase say it is most fair because it is a user fee - those who drive on the roads pay for the roads' upkeep - and is legally protected for use only on road projects.