Indiana Senate likely to alter House road funding plan, tax hikes

However, he said the Republican-controlled Senate is not yet on board with the House Bill 1002 plan, sponsored by state Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, that would raise fuel taxes by 10 cents per gallon, open the door to tolling interstate highways and immediately shift all state gasoline sales tax revenue to roads.

"How we pay for this is still very fluid," Long said. "We really haven't had much of a chance to weigh-in on the actual specifics. We've talked about them in generalities, and so now the rubber is going to hit the road over the next few weeks."

Long admitted that he's skeptical of the House Bill 1001 provision hiking the cigarette tax by $1 per pack to cover the $300 million General Fund revenue loss caused by shifting gasoline sales tax collections to a dedicated infrastructure account.

He said its doesn't make sense to supplement the diminishing gasoline tax with a higher cigarette tax that likely will reduce the percentage of Hoosier smokers and further diminish state revenue.

In addition, Long said increasing the cigarette tax to cover the gasoline sales tax shift does not fit with the notion of a "user-fee" road funding system.

"The House leadership decided this was the best way to move the bill knowing that it's going to take a different form over in the Senate, and we're going to have to hammer out our differences on that," Long said. "It's not a popular concept in our caucus."

Nevertheless, Long pledged to work with the House and Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb to develop a long-term road funding strategy before the General Assembly adjourns for the year in late April.

"There's a cafeteria plan of ways that you can do this...The House tapped into a number of them," Long said. "We're going to have to come up with a version of that bill that can pass the Senate."