BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho senators whittled down a $530 million transportation funding plan on Tuesday with the hopes of getting it through both chambers before lawmakers adjourn for the year.
The latest transportation plan is now roughly $320 million, primarily by using bonds to pay for new road projects and repay it with future federal highway payments. The newly tweaked bill now needs to go before the full Senate once more and clear the House floor all before March 24, the Legislature’s anticipated adjournment.
Under the amendments, backed by Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Bert Brackett, a Republican from Rogerson, the plan would extend the so-called “surplus eliminator.” That allows leftover state general funds to be funneled to transportation funds for an additional five years. Idaho has been diverting a portion of the state’s excess funds to state roads and bridges since 2015, but that system is set to expire this year.
However, a surplus eliminator does not create a permanent or significant source of transportation funds because there is no guarantee that the state will have a budget surplus at the end of the fiscal year.
The plan also would replace the fuel tax funding Idaho State Police currently receives with one percent of the state’s general funds. This would free up an additional $17 million for roads and bridges without cutting ISP’s budget.
“What’s left is the $300 million in (bonding) authority, moving state police onto the sales tax revenue stream and the surplus eliminator with a five-year sunset,” said Brackett.
Meanwhile, senators agreed to strip language allowing cities and counties to use a local sales tax option to fund transportation projects. Critics have been quick to point out that would never pass the Legislature as supporters have unsuccessfully been trying to push a local option sales tax for decades. The new plan also removes the exemption on sales tax for road materials. That was estimated to help boost transportation funding by $12 million.
Idaho uses fuels taxes, registration fees and other sources to pay for its state and local roads and bridges. However, that system has not been enough to help cover the costs of maintenance and construction, leaving state with an annual $262 million transportation deficit.
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