Though a bill to increase the state’s gasoline tax appears to be limping along on fumes, for the first time there seems to be “some momentum” the measure could claw its way out of a legislative committee after all, House Speaker Taylor Barras told a group of Acadiana business leaders on Monday.
As the USA Today Network of Louisiana reports, Barras and Gov. John Bel Edwards pitched the tax to the business leaders, eager for an infusion of cash that could jumpstart the completion of the massive I-49 South project.
The House Ways and Means Committee—where most other tax measures have gone to die this session—is scheduled to hear House Bill 632 by Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge, today.
Carter’s bill would raise the state gas tax 17 cents per gallon and raise $510 million annually for transportation infrastructure projects. It would also link the state’s gasoline tax to the Consumer Price Index, which could gradually raise it another 13 cents per gallon.
One Acadiana President Jason El Koubi said he and other business leaders have lobbied the committee in favor of the gas tax hike.
“We haven’t had a lot of success,” he said, adding “We’re going to be there Tuesday.”
But Barras—who earlier in the session said he thought the gas tax was dead—said, “For the first time, I’m feeling like (the gas tax hike) has some momentum.” The committee’s vote could come down to a one-vote swing, he said.
But the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity is pressing committee members to reject the bill, and a poll last week showed two-thirds of Louisianans oppose it. If the bill clears the committee, Barras said he will support it on the House floor.
