LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska motorists will pay higher taxes at the gas pump to cover road and bridge repairs under a law passed Thursday over Gov. Pete Ricketts’ objections.
Lawmakers mustered just enough support to override Ricketts’ veto of a 6-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase in their first real showdown with the new Republican governor. The bill received 30 ’yes’ votes - the minimum required; 16 senators voted against it.
The proposal will raise Nebraska’s total gas tax over four years to 31.6 cents per gallon, generating an additional $25 million annually for the state and $51 million for cities and counties once fully implemented.
Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion, the bill’s sponsor, said the gas tax remains the most effective way to pay for construction work to help improve road safety and the economy.
“The need is great. The options are few. Waiting is not an option,” said Smith, a fiscal conservative who usually advocates for tax cuts.
Smith said he still hoped to work with Ricketts and his new state roads director, Kyle Schneweis, to look at new ways to pay for deteriorating roads and bridges. Ricketts had urged lawmakers to give Schneweis time to explore options other than a tax increase.
In a statement released after the override, Ricketts said the tax will hit low-income Nebraska residents hardest because they pay a larger share of their income on gas than wealthier drivers.
“This tax increase will not only hurt Nebraska’s hardworking families, but it will only make it more difficult to grow Nebraska because of our state’s burdensome tax climate,” the governor said.
Smith has argued that the road situation has grown too large to address without additional revenue. In a 2014 report, the Department of Roads identified $10.2 billion in projects it says are needed over the next 20 years.
Nebraska has more than 100,000 miles of roads and 20,000 bridges, mostly owned by counties and cities. Roughly 10,000 miles of road and 3,500 bridges belong to the state.
The state’s share of Federal Highway Trust Fund money has fallen faster than the national average in recent years. Funding from the federal gas tax has declined for most states as vehicles became more fuel efficient and motorists cut back on driving.
Other opponents blasted the vote as harmful to farmers and small-town residents who travel greater distances than their city counterparts.
“If you don’t think this is going to hit rural Nebraska harder than anyone else, you’re fooling yourself,” said Sen. Tyson Larson of O’Neill.
Sen. Dave Bloomfield of Hoskins said many farmers rely on old trucks that don’t burn gas as efficiently as newer models, so they’ll end up paying more.
“We don’t pave roads with dollar bills,” he said.
And poor Nebraska residents found a champion in Sen. Ernie Chambers, who said they spend a larger share of income on gas. Chambers, a liberal-leaning senator, chastised his colleagues after the vote.
“What you did was wrong, what you did was unethical, what you did was immoral and what you did was un-Christian,” Chambers said on the legislative floor.
Smith cast the tax as a “user fee” because it’s only paid by motorists, including those from out-of-state. Smith said repairing roads and bridges would help save motorists money by reducing car maintenance costs.
“There’s a cost of doing nothing,” said Sen. Curt Friesen, of Henderson. “We can continue to let our roads and bridges deteriorate, and the cost will just go up.”
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The bill is LB610
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