Raising fuel tax is necessary pain

Gazette Editorial Board

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Iowa isn't the only state looking for ways to catch up a huge backlog of road and bridge repairs. A National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission report announced last year found that states are shortchanging road construction and maintenance by up to $185 billion a year.

In Iowa, the annual shortfall is pegged at as much as $250 million for vital infrastructure needs. Complaints about crumby streets and highways are daily talking points statewide.

Yet the Legislature kicked the can down the road again this session. No change in the fuel tax that has been flat for 24 years. And no other solutions found.

Gov. Terry Branstad recently floated the idea of using more of the state's sales tax or gambling proceeds to plug this huge funding pothole.

While we applaud the willingness to look at alternative ideas, we are leery of relying on these taxes, which are prone to legislative whim every year and already pay for many important services and programs.

Iowa's road use fund is dedicated to the state's transportation needs and can't be used for other purposes. That's the way it should be. A stable funding source is a must because transportation infrastructure is critical to our economy and quality of life, and maintenance is ongoing.

So it's up to legislators to find the funding fix. Raising the fuel tax won't solve the problem decades down the road because highly fuel-efficient vehicles and alternative fuels will be more common. Other options, such as fees based on vehicle miles driven or even toll roads, will have to be considered.

Raising the fuel tax - essentially a user tax - remains by far the best way to catch up road repairs anytime soon. Painful, yes. But the pain only gets worse each year if nothing is done.

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