Chronicle Editorial

Getting over the gas tax
 
     Iowa’s infrastructure keeps crumbling, repair costs keep rising, and money keeps getting tighter. It’s an ongoing saga that’s been at the forefront of legislative discussion for the past four years. While there’s no cure-all solution to the state’s infrastructure woes, it’s clear increasing the gas tax is the most logical option as the state plans for the future.
    Bipartisan support for a 10-cent gas tax hike has grown significantly in recent months. Iowa’s gas tax, which is currently set at 21 cents per gallon, hasn’t been raised since 1989. Many lawmakers feel a change is long overdue and pledged support for a raise. The state’s Road Use Tax Fund has taken a hit over the past decade, and a gas tax increase would help supplement lost revenue for future infrastructure repairs. The Iowa Department of Transportation needs $215 million in additional annual funding to address critical infrastructure needs, and the 10-cent hike would help address that by creating an estimated $200 million in new tax revenue each year.
    The proposal isn’t without opposition. Some legislators and special interest groups feel Iowa’s infrastructure needs can be met through other means like tapping into the state’s general fund. However, those proposals have received little fanfare, and public support for a gas tax hike appears to be growing. A recent Loras College Poll found that 54 percent of Iowans favor a 10-cent increase. It’s not a supermajority, but it’s clear Iowans don’t absolutely hate the idea of a hike.
    Failure to increase infrastructure funding could lead to detrimental repercussions in the near future. Not only will Iowa’s roads and bridges fall into further disrepair, but multiple counties will be forced to borrow more money to simply keep roadways open and drivable. Many counties currently borrow money to supplement a lack of state funding for infrastructure upkeep, and continuing to grow that debt creates the possibility for financial entanglements in the future. County and city budgets are already quite strained due to recent property tax reforms. Adding to that burden by failing to create additional road use revenue seems extremely ill advised.
    2015 feels like a do-or-die year for the gas tax hike. It’s been talked about for a long time, and it finally appears to have the bipartisan support it needs to pass. However, it’s on borrowed time. This year’s General Assembly has some divisive issues on the horizon that will more than likely create frosty relations in the weeks ahead. If lawmakers truly want to address discrepancies in state infrastructure funding, they would be wise to tackle this issue very quickly. Failing to do so could put the proposal on thin ice and severely jeopardize any chance of passage in 2015.
    If it’s been said once, it’s been said a million times: nobody likes to pay more taxes, especially at the gas pump. However, a 10-cent gas tax hike seems like the most plausible option to generate much needed revenue for infrastructure repairs. It’s clear Iowa’s roads and bridges need help. Increasing the gas tax won’t solve all of the state’s problems by any means, but it’s a step in the right direction that’s been overdue for quite some time.