Editorial: Gas tax vote offers leaders a starting point

Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 12, 2005

A gas tax increase of 10 cents over the next two years, which the House narrowly approved early this morning, though not as friendly to rural areas as hoped, is a starting point for legislators to find a compromise.

No one wants to see the price of gas increase, however, the options to raise money for such a high-budget item, are limited.

Some legislators oppose the increase because a majority of the potential $7.7 billion it would generate would go to the Twin Cities.

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There’s no doubt congestion is a horrific problem many outstate residents must also contend with, and the money would purportedly alleviate this problem. But creating a better system of rural trunk roads would help the state continue its economic development focus and benefit all residents as well.

The JOBZ plan will only be as successful as the ability to transport goods from rural areas will allow and if trunk roads are not improved, it will severely restrict businesses who choose to locate in rural areas.

The last gas tax increase was in 1988; since then, the state’s highway system has largely been neglected, while costs have increased. It’s going to take a lot of money to come even close to overcoming so many years of neglect.

Caught off-guard by the 68-66 vote, House Republican leaders expect the discussion to continue today, and what was done with this morning’s vote will be undone.

We hope our state leaders will work to find a solution to remedy the lack of attention to our highway system, rather than let the state continue to suffer from a lack of bi-partisan problem-solving.