There’s been little press about the passage of a constitutional amendment on Oct. 14 that safeguards any new money raised by an increase in the gas tax in Louisiana.
But Governing magazine reports the measure—which creates a sub-fund in the state’s transportation trust fund—could help Louisiana fix its crumbling roads and bridges.
“The measure could improve the chances of future gas tax hikes passing,” the magazine reports. “The legislation that stalled this year, in fact, explicitly stated it would only take effect if a ballot measure like Amendment 3 passed.”
The state isn’t expecting any additional gas tax dollars for transportation projects anytime soon. But with the new restrictions, Louisiana joins a number of states that have imposed restrictions on transportation funds through ballot measures in recent years.
Thirty states have constitutional restrictions on how the revenues in transportation funds can be spent, according to the Council of State Governments. Several states, including Illinois, Maryland and Wisconsin added those restrictions since 2014. New Jersey also expanded the scope of its constitutional protections last year.
