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Our View

Tax-hungry lawmakers fail to derail governor’s highway plan

You know, if we didn’t know that there that there is a “better plan” as to coming up with the necessary revenue to adequately deal with our states roads, highways and bridges without calling for more taxes, many of us would fall for the political propaganda spewing from the mouths of some pushy pro-tax lawmakers in Little Rock.

Lawmakers recently concluded a special session called by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to deal with his “shortterm” no-new-tax plan that will come up with the necessary state money to obtain an additional $200 million a year in federal highway funds.

Because Hutchinson’s legislation relies largely on using portions of state surplus funds and increased state investment returns, there were some concerns that relying on state surplus revenues was just not sustainable.

Still other lawmakers, who said the governor’s plan is simply misleading, and to obligate the state to use 25 percent of future surpluses to increase state highway funding is just a bad idea, when that money may be needed to bail out future state subsidy programs for the poor and to pay for more beds to deal with the state’s overcrowded prisons.

Then there is good ol’ arrogant Sen. Jimmy Hickey and his few cronies throwing around proposed legislation calling for an 8-cent gas tax increase which would make Arkansas fuel prices skyrocket and have the highest fuel prices among our neighboring states.

With total disregard for the tax struggling Arkansans, among them 260,000 dependent upon food stamps and other government subsidies, Hickey was leading the charge to circumvent the governor’s no-new-tax plan.

Hickey, R-Texarkana, and Sen. Ronald Caldwell, RWynne, went around during the special session while lawmakers were considering the governor’s no-newtax plan for roads with draft legislation that would raise the state’s gas and diesel taxes by 8 cents a gallon. They said their brilliant plan would raise more money than Hutchinson’s plan regardless of the consequences it would have on most Arkansans.

As we have pointed out, time and time again, this problem with highway funding has been bouncing around for years, and was such a concern of former Gov. Mike Beebe that he too formed his own committee he called the Blue Ribbon Committee on Highway Finance.

That committee came up with scores of revenue plans and studies with many of the recommendations considered by Hutchinson.

And, let’s remind everyone of a bill that was introduced during three previous regular legislative sessions in a row that would have shifted as much as $2.8 BILLION over 10 years from general revenue to state highway maintenance without calling for new taxes.

Under a bill sponsored by Rep. Dan Douglas, RBentonville, a portion of the money from the sale of new cars and trucks and some road-user items would gradually be shifted from the state general budget to the highway department.

Just in the first year, about $34.8 million would be collected, according to the Department of Finance and Administration. And, the slice that roads would get by 2025 would grow to an estimated $548.4 million.

With all that has been presented over the last several legislative sessions that can deal with this state’s road issues, there is absolutely no call to fall for the political propaganda coming from Sen. Hickey regarding the need to raise taxes now or anytime in the near future.