News

Indiana road funding bill moves forward

The House-approved road and bridge funding bill, HB 1002, is headed to the full Senate.

Earlier this week the Senate Committee on Tax and Fiscal Policy approved the proposed legislation, which includes an increase in the gasoline tax and could potentially allow the Indiana Department of Transportation to toll interstate highways.

Indiana farmer Mark Bacon says repairing the state’s infrastructure has been put off long enough.  “We’ve been working on this for a number of years trying to find funds for roads,” he says.  “We’ve also stressed to the legislators that we need the money to go back into the counties.  It’s not been coming.  We keep putting this off and kicking the can down the road and the bridges and roads are only getting worse.”

He tells Brownfield the proposed legislation looks at several different options to fund road repair.  “Personally I think the 10 cents per gallon (gasoline tax) is possibly the way to go,” he says.  “That way everybody is paying their fair share.”

A recent study, funded by checkoff dollars, shows that nearly $6.4 billion is needed over the next 20 years to bring all of Indiana’s rural roads and bridges up to an acceptable level.

Senate appropriations committee chair Luke Kenley says the proposed legislation focuses funding discussions on a user-fees approach and that those who use the roads the most will pay the most.  Kenley says increases in gas taxes alone will not fund infrastructure repair.  He says Indiana needs a modernized, sustainable plan that will fund roads for years to come.

The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week.