Gas tax increase just a proposal sounds a lot like hyperbole

Gordon Garnos

AT ISSUE: The South Dakota legislative Joint Transportation Committee has held its August meeting as I said it would several weeks ago in another column. Its members are still searching for ways to raise more money to maintain our state’s highways and bridges. The difference between this meeting and the one held in July is it has some concrete ideas on how to raise that money came out in its August meeting. But these are only proposals, a committee member said. But when they talk actual numbers, the proposal idea sounds like those proposals are already in concrete.

FOR WEEKS NOW, maybe months, we have been reading in our newspapers the plea for us to contact our Congress people and tell them we don’t want socialized medicine. Well, the time may be here to start contacting our South Dakota legislators on how we feel about raising our state’s gas tax by 10 cents, from 22 to 32 cents a gallon.

As I said in that previous column that perhaps raising the gas tax would be the best way to go. However, raising it a dime as proposed at the August meeting seems plenty rich for the average South Dakotan’s blood. But just a gosh darn minute! That was just one of the proposals. There are others that more than likely will be thrown into the amalgamated pot to meet the needs of our state’s Transportation Department.

The final “proposal” would probably include a one percent boost in the excise tax on vehicle sales and also double the annual vehicle registration fee.

ALTOGETHER, they would raise a predicted $138 million, which they said would go a long way towards the $240 million for the needed catch-up maintenance of our state’s highways and bridges. But, as I said earlier, “These are only proposals.”

I said it because that is exactly what Joint Transportation Co-chairman Shantel Krebs, R-Sioux Falls, said. ‘These ideas are only meant to generate public comment,” she said. “…We’re going back to our constituents and hearing from them. We have not decided anything. These are merely proposals.”

The committee is scheduled to meet in October to finalize its plans for the 2010 legislative session.

HERE IS WHERE I have a problem. According to the American Petroleum Institute, when you factor in the federal gas tax, a 10-cent boost to our gas tax would put South Dakota as the nation’s ninth highest in per-gallon cost. I would think that is a bit rich for the average South Dakotan.

Secondly, if the state needs $240 million to play catch-up on our roads and bridges, a fair question here is, does that game of catch-up have to be in just one year? I don’t think so. This is especially true since it took more than a year creating the need for that “catch-up.” Don’t forget, we are still in a recession mode. I don’t think raising the price of gas and groceries at this point is a good idea. If you agree with me, let your legislators know how you feel.

I’ll concede that raising the gas tax and fees is necessary. I will also agree that those who use our highways and bridges should be the ones to make the payments. But does it have to be all at once? I don’t believe it has to.

State Senator Mike Vehle, R-Mitchell has made an interesting point. He said his 2006 Buick now costs $44 a year to register in South Dakota. Registering the same car in North Dakota would cost $93, $242 in Minnesota, $270 in Iowa, $362 in Nebraska, $304 in Montana and $243 in Wyoming.

YES, IF WE DOUBLED ours, we would still be the lowest among all of our neighboring states. Getting back to that $138 million these three estimated options would bring in, a breakdown in raising the gas tax by 10 cents would generate $57 million, a one percent increase in the excise tax on vehicle sales would add $19 million and the annual vehicle registration fee would add another $62 million, which would make up that total of $138 million. Doubling the registration fees would simply bring in more money. That may be a better way to raise the needed highway funding.

Still, raising the gas tax a little, say two or three cents a gallon, our out-of-state folks would be contributing for their use of our highways and bridges as well. And it wouldn’t hit our pocketbooks quite so hard either. The committee’s October meeting should be an interesting one with what its members bring back from their constituents. The constituents’ wishes should also be most interesting….

Gordon Garnos was long-time editor of the Watertown Public Opinion, retiring after 39 years with that newspaper. Garnos, a lifelong resident of South Dakota except for his military service in the U.S. Air Force, was born and raised in Presho.

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