Iowa road funding plan calls for 10-cent gas tax increase

DES MOINES - Details began to emerge Wednesday of a road funding proposal that may be introduced soon, while a long line of special interest groups lobbied for increasing the Iowa's fuel tax at the Capitol.

Groups representing Iowa's cities, counties, farmers, truck drivers and more united in their call for increasing the gas tax that funds the state's road repair budget. The groups spoke Wednesday morning at a meeting in the Wallace Building, then moved to the Capitol to lobby legislative leaders.

'It's all about the money,” said Paul Assman, Crawford County engineer and president of the Iowa County Engineers Association. 'We need to have additional resources to get the things done that we need to do.”

Key state lawmakers said a plan in development would immediately increase the state gas tax by 10 cents per gallon and a bill could be introduced as early as the end of next week.

They also said they feel good about the bill's prospects in the Legislature.

'I've never felt more optimistic about moving forward with the gas tax,” said Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

The state for years has been wrestling with a way to generate what it says is a $215 million annual shortfall in its road construction and repair budget. Declining gas tax revenue is a common issue nationwide as vehicles become more fuel-efficient and people drive less.

In past years, opposition to raising Iowa's gas tax was strong; that opposition has subsided significantly.

This year, a seemingly endless string of special interest groups from all sectors - local government, business, agriculture - have endorsed increasing the gas tax to help cover that road funding deficit.

'I would say at this point clearly the Iowans who are supporting it are making many more contacts with the General Assembly than those who oppose it,” Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen said Wednesday. 'In fact … some Iowans have contacted me who at one time were not OK with it, and now they're saying this is the right thing to do.”

Local governments say raising the gas tax is the right thing to do because many of them have been forced to take out loans to pay for road projects. The Iowa State Association of Counties estimates roughly a third of the state's counties are bonding for a total of more than $200 million. The numbers are similar for cities, their representative said.

Agriculture groups advocated for a gas tax increase to improve the roads on which their products are transported. Jerry Mohr of the Iowa Corn Growers Association said, for example, 1 million bushels of corn are transported daily within a five-mile radius of the U.S. 30/Interstate 380 interchange in Cedar Rapids.

Brenda Neville of the Iowa Motor Truck Association said that even though some members are apprehensive about the organization advocating for a gas tax increase, the majority support it.

'At the end of the day, what they really want is good roads,” Neville said.