SLC Mayor Becker Favors Adjusting Gas Tax

Dec 15, 2008 by Elizabeth Ziegler

(KCPW News) Salt Lake City wants to see the state's gas tax revenue increased, or an alternative funding source put in place. The concept is being mulled over by the city council as a legislative priority for the upcoming session. And speaking on KCPW's Politics Up Close, Mayor Ralph Becker says he's personally in favor of it.

"My own view, for whatever it's worth, is that when it comes to a gas tax, it is about one of the most clear, pure user fees that we have," Becker says. "Cars and vehicles use highways and so a gas tax makes sense as a way to pay for that."

The state's gas tax goes into the general fund, and 30 percent of it is distributed to cities and counties to help pay for building and maintaining roads. Salt Lake City leaders say the gas tax has not kept up with inflation. This became a significant problem this year, when asphalt prices skyrocketed due to a national shortage and oil reached record prices.

Becker has not come out with a specific proposal, but he says he hopes lawmakers consider it seriously this year. He says it could generate needed revenue as the state considers further cuts to state-funded programs, like public and higher education. However, the former House Minority Leader acknowledges the Legislature has been cool to the concept of revising the gas tax in the past.

"I hope they give it fair consideration, as a logical way, a reasonable way, to pay for highway improvements, particularly as it relates to the impacts that we are having with our education system since it's really drawing from the same pot of money, if we take sales tax money and use that to pay for roads," Becker says.

While Governor Jon Huntsman has said he believes it will be necessary to reconfigure the gas tax at some point, he did not include it in his budget proposal this year. However, he says he would consider linking a portion of the 24-cent per gallon tax to the rate of inflation, if lawmakers proposed such a change. And he says there are other "creative" ways to fund transportation.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2009 KCPW