EDITORIAL: Do the right thing for Indiana roads

The House of Representatives has passed a plan that would raise the state’s tax on gasoline and make it rise automatically with future inflation. It also raises the tax on cigarettes and raises the possibility of tolls on three interstate highways.

The Senate has adopted a rival plan that does not raise taxes, but solves highway funding only for the next four years. It takes a large chunk of its money from the state’s previously sacred budget surplus.

Someone will win in the week ahead, and we can only hope it’s the people who have to drive on Indiana’s roads.

It would be hard enough to keep Indiana roads in shape if the state’s fuel tax income were holding steady. In fact, it has declined about 10 percent over the past decade, chiefly because we’re driving cars that use less fuel.

In the week ahead, the voices who say we never should raise any tax will be making more noise than a semi’s “jake” brakes.

Our state gasoline tax rate has been stuck on 18 cents per gallon since 2003. But we shouldn’t confuse the tax rate with our tax bill. For the average Hoosier, better mileage from vehicles has reduced our tax bill by about 10 percent since 2003.

We’d have to raise the gasoline tax rate to 20 cents per gallon to get back to even. Of course, 20 cents today doesn’t buy what it did in 2003. The House plan would raise the tax to a level that adjusts for inflation since 2003.

We need to improve our roads to stay competitive. Indiana leads the nation in manufacturing. To maintain that enviable position, we need highways to bring in raw materials and ship out our finished products.

What’s more, the condition of our roads plays a major part in the way visitors perceive our state, not to mention our personal safety.

Regardless of what the no-tax-increase crowd might think, it’s difficult if not impossible to save money on road spending. When we drive on them, they wear out.

When we try to skimp on maintaining roads, we get results like the inferior pavement used to resurface S.R. 8 between Garrett and Avilla last year. The road now feels more like a county road than a state highway.

Paying slightly higher fuel taxes for better roads actually might save you money. If you’ve ever had to buy a new tire because of the condition of Indiana roads, you’d be glad to pay a few more pennies at the pump to avoid repeating the experience.

In addition to holding taxes steady, the Senate plans shifts the burden onto local governments to increase taxes for roads and streets. Local elected officials may be just as reluctant to raise taxes as their counterparts in Indianapolis, getting us nowhere.

The best part of the Senate plan is that it calls for a study of highway funding for the long term. The thing is, the Legislature did the same thing last year, and the study was finished last fall. All the legislators have to do is read it.

The study points out that fuel consumption will continue to decline, so we need new ideas for the future. One suggestion calls for a switch to road-user charges, such as 2 cents per mile for passenger vehicles, and weight-distance fees for commercial trucks.

Nothing we do to bring in more money for highways is going to be politically popular, but neither are potholes. Indiana legislators need to summon up the courage to do what Indiana needs. Hoosiers know the importance of roads, so the backlash from raising the fuel tax rate might not be as bad as they fear.