The state Road Fund is in need of some serious funding help, but Senate Finance Committee Chairman Walt Helmick says he doesn't anticipate a gas tax increase this legislative session because of the pending federal economic stimulus package. "I can't see how a situation would develop that we would be moving forward until we know what's happening with the stimulus package," Helmick said Monday at the state capitol.
The Road Fund, which pays for state highway maintenance projects and is mainly funded by the state gasoline tax and the privilege tax on new vehicles purchases, has been stagnant in recent years. Higher gasoline prices have also hurt it. The Federal Highway Administration says 3.2 percent fewer miles were driven in West Virginia in October 2008 compared to numbers the year before.
WVU Professor Tom Witt told state lawmakers Monday they could do one of a number of things to increase Road Fund revenues including increasing the gas tax, raising vehicle registration fees and increasing the privilege tax to six percent.
But Helmick says there are a few reasons why that wouldn't be a good idea now. "You obviously can't make a move on any tax increase because of the stimulus package and because of the economy. People can't afford it," the chairman said.
Helmick says Governor Joe Manchin and state lawmakers made a major mistake the last two years by not allowing an automatic gas tax increase to take effect. He says that decision cost the Road Fund $160 million.
Helmick says they stopped the automatic increases because gasoline prices were $4 a gallon. "Now it's less than two (dollars) folks, what is five cents? I think there was a lesson learned in what we did and that lesson was, don't do that. Stay the course, we would have been better off," Helmick concluded.
