GOP Split on Gas Tax
A handful of Republican lawmakers called for reducing Tennessee’s gas tax in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, while other Republicans warned such a move would paralyze road construction in the state’s fastest-growing communities. Fifteen legislators called for an executive order temporarily suspending the tax, even as prices at the pump are poised to fall. They made the call in a letter to Governor Phil Bredesen.
But State Senator Mark Norris, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, the move “would not be appropriate.” Citing statewide infrastructure needs, Norris said, “You’d be robbing Peter to pay Paul, and that would not be good at this time.”
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the state’s 21.4-cent gas tax generates about $397 million a year for road and highway projects—or about half of TDOT’s total revenue. Without those funds, transportation officials said, projects across the state would grind to a halt. Suspending the gas tax also would put a pinch on cities and counties, which collect more than $245 million a year.
Lawmakers signing on to the letter (and their counties) include: State Representatives Stacey Campfield (Knox); Glen Casada (Williamson); Chris Clem (Hamilton); Delores Gresham (Fayette, Hardeman and Tipton); David Hawk (Greene and Unicoi); Matthew Hill (Washington); Brian Kelsey (Shelby); Susan Lynn (Sumner and Wilson); Debra Young Maggart (Sumner); Gerald McCormick (Hamilton); Frank Niceley (Jefferson and Knox); Parkey Strader (Knox); Donna Rowland (Rutherford); Paul Stanley (Shelby); and Bo Watson (Hamilton and Rhea). TDOT reports show these counties have benefited from more than $1 billion in gas tax-funded road improvements since 2003.
Bredesen, for his part, said the federal government already is taking “management-oriented” steps to deal with high gas prices following Katrina. President Bush last week announced the United States, in conjunction with other oil-consuming nations, will release substantial amounts of crude oil and refined gasoline from reserves to counter supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina.
So far, the strategy appears to be working. According to this morning’s reports, oil prices now are below $66 a barrel — substantially less than last week, when prices briefly topped $70. Oil prices are expected to keep falling, and economists believe those lower prices should be reflected at the pump shortly.
Oddly, Republicans signing on to the gas tax letter failed to mention that gas prices — prior to Hurricane Katrina — had soared 44% in a year under the Bush Administration’s faltering economic policies. To get the latest report on gas prices in Tennessee, check out AAA’s Fuel Gauge Report.
