Fee Hike a Leading Contender to Raise Money for Roads
Texas lawmakers are mulling ways to raise more money for roads during next year’s legislative session and two proposals are drawing the strongest interest.
The Texas Association of Business has thrown its support behind a $50 hike in the annual fee Texas drivers pay to register vehicles, with the money earmarked for new transportation projects. Meanwhile, some key lawmakers favor dedicating to roads the sales tax from vehicle purchases that Texans already pay.
As the 2013 legislative session approaches, transportation advocates have been trying to draw more attention to severe shortages in road funding, stressing that delaying road work ...
Comments (14)
Kenneth Franks
The legislature is already holding dedicated funds to certify the budget and some funds if not a lot never seem to get to their dedicated purpose. T.A.B. wants us to pay $50 more dollars for registrations with no assurance it will ever get to the pavement. If we have any more dedicated funds they should go to their dedicated purpose unlike what has happened in the past with some of them.
gypsy314 ne
I say spend less work prisoners, do away with public pensions for state workers top to bottom. No MORE fees or taxes.
Karen Spivey-Cummings via Texas Tribune on Facebook
I'd much rather fee/taxes go up than privatizing them.
Garrick Stephens
Wouldn't it be nice if our illustrious legislature would worry about Texan's education, healthcare, parks, environment, etc.. in the same way... They will probably even want to give these roads to foreign companies as toll-roads for us to pay fees on...
Andy Jones via Texas Tribune on Facebook
No more roads. We need high speed rail and lite rail. Build it and they will come.
Guppy Man via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The using existing taxes is a much better idea - figure out what the rest of us have to do every day - live within your means. Don't we all wish that when we needed more money, we could just vote ourselves a raise. Vote new taxes. Nope. Spend less, and you can pay for more.
David Spratt
Do not worry Garrick,,,, just open your pockets and you can have your every desire.
Do you buy an all inclusive hunting and fishing License every year? Do you hold an all inclusive yearly parking permit for any State park or Corps boat launch? Do you belong to Ducks unlimited? Do you buy lake permit for a boat ? These fees pay for your parks and wildlife conservation. efforts. A lot of us do, more people need to.
Free Health Care is on it's way,,, although you may not like the price of it.
Lobby the State legislature to raise your property taxes if you own a home,, even if you do not you can still ask them to raise property taxes and you can pay more in rent to fund Education better.
The EPA is on the job !
You sound bitter,,, maybe another state would be more to your liking? California maybe,,, lots of free stuff out there or so I hear.
Why stop there ? Raise them $150 per vehicle. Maybe that would cut down on the amounts of them ? I am serious why not pay $200 yearly to register a vehicle , might increase ridership of public transportation .
Double or triple the fees for out of state vehicles being retitled in Texas and crack down on people driving vehicles titled , licensed and insured in other states simply because it is cheaper ,,, but the people are residing in Texas. I know personally of a half dozen people who moved here from out of state who are doing this
Raise the state fuel tax to raise revenue and dedicate the money to roads.
Dedicate sales taxes on vehicles to roads.All the above makes more sense than borrowing more money as mentioned above ,,, using 1.2 billion to " Leverage" ,, sell bonds ,, which means borrowing which costs more money.
.Then again maybe the answer to all our problems is the importation of more valuable Immigrants legal and illegal? Obama says it's true.
Audrey Fisher via Texas Tribune on Facebook
This is the Romney Plan from MA - raise fees and hope folks won't notice that this is Just Another Way to TAX without calling it a TAX.
hans5162@ix.netcom.com hans
The Republicans spend more time trying to figure out how to raise revenue without calling it a tax than they do anything else. As a result, they are incapable of governing. They have become a completely dysfunctional party. They claim to be fiscal conservatives, yet the only manner in which they consider tackling infrastructure needs that have been neglected during their dominance is through debt. Need cancer research- issue bonds. Road construction- issue bonds. Water infrastructure-issue bonds. School construction- nope, don't believe in building schools. Just have the guts to raise taxes and build what we need to build in order to remain competitive. Call it a fee or call it a tax. It's all the same, whether idiot Bill Hammond thinks so or not.
Samdavis
I'll just stay here and soon we'll take over TX government from people like you David.
Jim Vance
If this additional "fee" were earmarked for reconstruction and maintenance of the existing roads, I would both agree with. accept and endorse it wholeheartedly. However, devoting it toward "new" transportation projects derived from the legacy paradigm and institutional environment that's evolved over 85+ years since inception of the Federal-Aid Highway Program will do little other than continue feeding the speculative induced-development Ponzi scheme that benefits insiders in the development and construction industries (plus the FIRE supply chain participants), and all the politicians and political operatives they support in turn with campaign and charitable contributions generated from the scheme's highly profitable revenue streams.
It's well past time for Texas citizens to recognize the terms of that behind-the-scenes game have to be reworked from the ground up.
Rachel Swan via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Instead, lets slow the pace of people moving here. That would be free.
David Spratt
Just curious Sam,,, What you mean by " People like me?"
I was Born Here. I have a feeling most of the people moaning and groaning government does not do enough for them are transplants. Growing up and in my younger years I never even considered that the " government " ever do anything for me nor do I remember anyone in my family ever mentioning it.
I guess we knew food stamps existed ,,, somewhere,,, and there were projects that housed people for free but beyond that nobody i know of knew where they were or how to get anything like that. We all worked from young ages and we did just fine,,,, nobody ever considered asking the government for anything nor did we consider they had anything to offer.
Today you have people that want totally free education at all levels,,,,
Free health-care,
free cell phones,
free cable,,
free housing,
free utilities,
free food,
free contraceptives ,
free abortions,
free transportation,
free disability payments,
Two years and more of unemployment,
free roads
And I could probably go on and on. Who exactly pays for all this " FREE STUFF?" Maybe all those " RICH FOLKS?"
Yes there is a lot of corruption all the way around and corruption knows no party. I do get tired of True Conservatives being branded as racist, bigots, uncaring , heartless and greedy
.
Big spending Republicans , Democrats, Independents need to go and be scrubbed from Governing. Coddlers that seem to always find some new program to fund to promote and legislate " Fairness and economic equality" whether one is deserving or not need to go. Those people who believe government is the answer to their every problem need to get off their asses and take some personal responsibility for their own lives.
Every time you accept something for free or that is given to you,,,,,,, there is a catch. Some are quite willing to give up their independence, rights , privileges , free will and freedom of choice in exchange for the safety and security of having their lives controlled and paid for . They are quite willing to sacrifice all these things in my name also,,,, and because they see it in their best interest,,,, what I think about it means nothing at all. I do not want or need anything from any from of government beyond basic services they are obligated to whether it be the State Constitution or the Federal Constitution,,, if it is not in either of those then I do not want them to provide it nor do I want to pay for it.
So much of what I read here has to do with who is not getting enough money,, but nobody wants to give up anything and nobody wants to pay more. The ones asking do not want to pay more and the ones denying certainly do not want to pay more ,,,, and the ones who pay the least want the most.
Some people do need help from time to time and some people are just not able,,, but there is a culture of dependence today that is like nothing we have ever seen. This mentality is destroying the " middle class" and promoting a generational sense of entitlement that spans all racial and ethnic boundaries.
So I Guess doing away" with people like me" that work and pay for every single thing I mentioned above that others want for free,,, and in addition help to pay for these things for others who really need the help will make this a better state?
BiffTannen
Spratt, I was born here too. What difference that makes I'll never know. State lines are an artificial construct.
Free roads, really? You built or paid for the roads you drove on then?