With all the heated issues dividing Hoosiers these days — such as Syrian refugees, LGBT rights and drug addiction — it’s almost a relief to deal with a problem as ordinary as crumbling roads.
Hoosiers and our legislators should agree on the need for good roads, although it’s not clear that we understand what it takes to pay for them.
The importance of safe highways should not be overlooked. Hoosiers are far more at risk of dying or being injured in a traffic crash than by a terrorist.
Highways rose on Indiana’s list of priorities this summer, when a bridge problem forced detours on Interstate 65 near Lafayette.
Gov. Mike Pence responded with a plan, called 21st Century Crossroads, that would add $1 billion to road spending over the next four years “without raising taxes.”
That sounded great except for two problems. Pence asked the Legislature to kick in $450 million without suggesting where to find it. He also targeted all his spending toward state highways, with nothing for local roads and streets.
Last week, Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Lafayette, offered a plan to give $418 million to local governments for their roads. He would take the money would from local income tax revenues the state is holding in reserve accounts.
Both of those plans are short-term solutions, however.
Indiana’s Speaker of the House, Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, has declared that finding a long-term fix for road funding will be a priority in the 2016 session of the Legislature.
Bosma floated his own plan that would add 5 cents per gallon to the state gasoline tax. It also would increase the cigarette tax by $1 per pack so Indiana could shift all of the sales tax on gasoline to road projects.
Bosma wants to tie our gasoline tax rate to inflation, so it would grow gradually without requiring any more debates or votes.
Comparing Indiana’s gasoline tax to other states can get confusing. On its face, Indiana’s tax of 18 cents per gallon ranks below the national average of 20.9 cents.
However, the American Petroleum Institute rates Indiana’s gasoline taxes as the nation’s 11th-highest, because it counts Indiana’s sales tax of 7 percent on fuel. Indiana is one of only a handful of states that collect sales tax on gasoline.
The trouble is that Indiana’s income from fuel taxes is shrinking as cars get better fuel mileage and the price of gasoline keeps falling.
Give Bosma credit for courage in suggesting a tax increase of any kind in an election year.
“No new taxes” makes a great campaign slogan, but eventually someone has to pave the roads. Indiana hasn’t raised its gasoline tax rate in 13-14 years.
“It’s time for a strong, adult conversation about maintaining our reputation and slogan as ‘The Crossroads of America,’” Bosma told the Times of Northwest Indiana last week, anticipating criticism of his plan to raise taxes.
Already, legislators are saying they can’t deal with such a complicated issue in their “short session” that comes in even-numbered years. But that’s a weak excuse.
Paying for highways is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue. Every Hoosier, conservative or liberal, needs safe roads.
With gasoline prices low, this could be the least painful time to raise fuel taxes. And legislators should be grateful for a break from the really hard questions.