Gas Tax
Streetsblog LA
Is $100 Million Enough to Hold on July’s Metro Fare Hikes?
As part of the compromise allowing Governor Schwarzenegger to eliminate the gas tax and replace with with an excise tax (ABX8 6 and ABX8 9), monies collected from the diesel tax are being used to partially replace the funds being removed from the State Transit Assistance Fund (STA). Despite the removal of the transit funding mechanisms in the gas tax, these bills ensure that transit operators have steady funding for operations by using the sales tax on diesel to replenish the State Transit Assistance Fund (STA).
April 13, 2010
Would the New Senate Fuel Tax Deal a Death Blow to the Transport Bill?
Eight Democrats yesterday joined nearly the entire transportation universe, from road-builders to transit advocates, to warn the three Senate authors of a new climate bill against raising gas taxes without using the money for infrastructure. Their message, translated from the often impenetrable language of Washington: Imposing new fuel fees that are not routed to transport … Continued
April 6, 2010
8 Senate Dems Join Industry in a Gas-Tax Warning to Climate Bill’s Authors
As Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) prepare to unveil a new climate change measure that includes
a tax on motor fuels, eight of their colleagues are urging the trio not
to forget local transportation planning -- and warning that any new gas
tax should be used to help pay for a new federal infrastructure bill,
not redirected for other purposes.
April 6, 2010
New Report: Congress Should Boost Truck Efficiency by Raising Gas Tax
As the federal government moves forward on a mandate to set stronger fuel-efficiency rules for trucks and buses, a new report from an independent scientific body is urging lawmakers to take another approach: raise fuel taxes. The 2007 federal energy law aimed to set new fuel-efficiency rules for trucks as well as buses. (Photo: TTI) … Continued
April 1, 2010
Could Gas-Tax Bonds Pay For the Next Federal Transportation Bill?
House infrastructure committee chairman Jim Oberstar (D-MN), facing steep political odds
in his push to pass a new six-year federal transportation bill this
year, has begun to pitch an outside-the-box solution to the financing
shortfall that is still stalling congressional action: Treasury bonds.
March 31, 2010
Transport and the Tea Party: How Conservatives Talk About the Gas Tax
The passage of health care legislation this week, while elating
Democrats, has proven an equally potent motivator for conservatives
advocates of states' rights. Appearing on Sean Hannity's Fox News show
last night, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) was asked about the viability of the
legal challenge to the health bill filed by 14 mostly conservative attorneys general.
March 26, 2010
Could a New Kind of Fuel Tax Help Break the Senate Climate Deadlock?
Even before the Senate environment panel pushed through a GOP protest to approve
its climate change bill, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Joe Lieberman
(I-CT), and John Kerry (D-MA) were working behind the scenes on a
so-called "tripartisan" plan that can win enough votes in Congress' upper chamber to make nationwide emissions cuts a reality.
March 2, 2010
The Gas Tax Versus a VMT Tax: Is ‘All of the Above’ an Option?
(Chart: Oregon DOT) The prospect of an eventual move away from the gas tax and towards a fee on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) has sparked consternation from some well-known bloggers this week, with Matt Yglesias asserting that “a VMT [tax] has no advantages whatsoever over higher gasoline taxes” and Andrew Samwick suggesting that declining fuel … Continued
February 10, 2010
Gov.’s Newest Transit Raid Receiving a Frosty Reception
As Governor Schwarzenegger presses forward with his newest scheme to rob funds dedicated to transit, he's receiving a frosty response from legislators and opinion makers that could spell doom for this plan to balance the budget.
January 22, 2010