Gas-tax hike gets House endorsement
HELENA — A proposed 6-cents-per-gallon increase in Montana’s gasoline taxes is one vote away from reaching the governor’s desk. The state House on Friday gave preliminary approval to the measure on a 61-39 vote.
Frank Garner, R-Kalispell, is sponsoring House Bill 473, one of the central pieces of legislation to create a long-term program to fund infrastructure across the state. It follows failed attempts in the 2013 and 2015 sessions for the Republican Legislature and Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock to reach a compromise on infrastructure funding.
Acknowledging the contentious debate surrounding his proposal this session, Garner opened his arguments on the House floor with a reference to the Rolling Stones classic, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
“This is the way the political process works,” Garner said, adding that the bill would “help make sure that the highway safety account is full, that we have the opportunity to help our local partners … and that we not tell the good people of Montana that it’s time to wait longer for us to take action.”
The Senate approved the measure last week, after adding amendments that scaled back the original proposal to raise the state’s existing 27-cent gas tax by 8 cents.
The Senate amendments would enact a step-wise approach, beginning in July with a 4.5-cent bump and topping out at 6 cents in 2023. The per-gallon tax on diesel fuel would rise 2 cents by 2023, a substantial drop from the 7 1/4-cent hike proposed in the original bill.
The additional money would be used to fund investments in roads and bridges throughout the state. Proponents of Garner’s bill argued that the money currently going into the state highway account has failed to keep pace with maintenance needs as vehicles have become more fuel-efficient. Montana last raised its gas tax in 1993.
Several House Republicans spoke forcefully against the measure. Rep. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, called the tax hike her least-favorite bill of the session and pointed to the the Legislature’s current two-year budget proposal, which already appropriates hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure projects.
“We were left with a hole in our budget that we had to fix,” she said. “But instead of addressing those problems and finding and fixing inefficiencies in government, our solution is to tax our citizens.”
Known for her fiscally conservative policy as chair of the House’s main budget panel, Rep. Nancy Ballance, R-Hamilton, noted that she didn’t vote for the original bill. But she commended the “good-faith” negotiations that allowed the tax hike to be ratcheted back.
“To me it was a testament to what you can do when you get together, roll up your sleeves, and I kind of agree with Mick Jagger, you don’t always get what you want,” she said. “We don’t always even get what we need.”
Having already passed the Senate, the measure requires only one final vote by the House before it heads to Gov. Steve Bullock’s desk.
During a press conference Thursday, Bullock didn’t comment on whether he would sign the bill, but indicated support for bumping the state’s fuel taxes if his other infrastructure priorities win approval by the Legislature.
Reporter Sam Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.