By Lesley Weidenbener
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana lawmakers are considering whether to shift the state’s funding for roads and highways from a system based on gas purchases to one based on miles traveled.

Currently, Indiana drivers pay an 18-cent per gallon tax on gasoline, which is the state’s top transportation funding source, outside federal funds. But experts told a legislative committee Wednesday that the state should consider requiring at least some drivers to pay a road usage fee instead.

That’s because as cars have become more fuel efficient, gas tax funding has remained stagnate or fallen – even as the cost of road construction has increased. The problem is expected to worsen under higher gas mileage requirements mandated by the federal government.

“We have a problem that is an ever increasing spiral,” said Republican Rep. Ed Soliday of Valparaiso, the chairman of the Joint Study Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Assessment and Solutions. “Things are not going to get better.”

And Congress is facing a similar problem with the federal gas tax, which provides most of its transportation funding. That means the states can’t wait for help from the federal government, Soliday said.

“We have to look at alternative ways for everyone to pay for their fair share,” he said.

But auto industry leaders told the joint committee on Wednesday that any new system shouldn’t punish people who choose to buy hybrid or electric vehicles.

“We’re fine with paying our fair share as long as it’s technology neutral and comprehensive,” said Genevieve Cullen, vice president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association.

Lawmakers briefly considered legislation last year that would have imposed a $100 fee on the owners of electric vehicles, an amount Soliday said was based on the average amount that Hoosier drivers pay in state gas taxes. That plan was scrapped in favor of a study this fall to consider funding alternatives.

Jeff Perry, regional director of state government relations for General Motors, said policy makers too often blame the technology for transportation funding issues, even though improvements in gas mileage are more responsible for shortfalls. He said fees imposed on the owners of electric cars or hybrids – which combine gas and electric motors – discriminate against people who are choosing a vehicle that is better for the environment and the country.

Perry also said the fees aren’t fair because some larger hybrid vehicles have lower per-gallon mileage than do efficient gasoline-only powered cars.

“The problem is that the (gas tax) model is flawed,” Perry said. “We need a ground up approach, not just patches.”

One alternative is a road usage fee, which involves charging vehicle owners based on how many miles they drive. It’s a system that could be implemented in addition to the existing gas tax or in place of it, supporters said.

Oregon is implementing that type of system and officials in Washington and Nevada are considering something similar, said Matthew Dorfman, a partner at D’Artagnan Consulting, which works with states on transportation issues.

He called the road usage fee “almost the inevitable option.”

The system can involve installing monitoring devices in vehicles – but must also include the ability for drivers to report their mileage manually to avoid concerns about privacy, he said.

“There is no mandate for a GPS. There is no black box,” he said. “There should be some form of user choice.”

Denvil Duncan, a professor at the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, told lawmakers that he’s conducted surveys showing that Americans are open to the change – but only if they can see that it will eventually replace the gas tax. They don’t want to pay both, he said.

Drivers were also concerned about private issues, especially for programs that would use a GPS tracker in their vehicles. But Duncan said drivers were more supportive of self-reporting options.

Cost is also a factor, he said.

“So if you decide to go with a GPS model, the question becomes who will pay for the GPS device – the government or the driver,” Duncan said. “We’re seeing this does make a difference. If I don’t have to pay for it, I’m more likely to support it.”

Lesley Weidenbener is managing editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

By Cam Savage

Two weeks into a partial government shutdown, Congress negotiated down to the last minute – the night before the treasury department’s Oct. 17 deadline to raise the nation’s debt limit.

These negotiations, though the word “negotiation” seems a charitable characterization of what was happening, always – or at least routinely – go down to the last minute.

So with that behind us, for now, I offer a few suggested pieces of legislation which I believe could unite Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate and bring some measure of peace and harmony to the American people.

Packaged together, call this legislative package the “Things that Grind our Gears Agenda for America.”

First, we must address an issue critical to all Americans (at least occasionally). I suggest a nationwide ban on restaurant bathroom doors being labeled with anything other than “Women” or “Men” or “Women/Men,” given the recent trend of unisex bathrooms. Also acceptable will be very standard images depicting obvious symbols for “women” or “men.”

What we have to put an end to is the trendy and covert speakeasy-type labels popping up on bathroom doors in restaurants around the country.

Enough already with the men’s rooms marked as “Room 201: Office of Albert B. Huffandpuff, Esquire” or “Dressing Room of Mrs. Dolores K. Snickerdoodle.” We get it, inside jokes are great for management and staff, but when en route to the bathroom, what patron is interested in cleverness? Give us cleverness in the name of your establishment, the décor, even the menu, but don’t leave us scrambling in our moment of need.

Now, if you’re out at an Italian or German or Mexican restaurant in the good ole United States, this is your problem. It won’t kill you to know two words in a couple different languages and restaurants are well within their rights to mark their bathroom doors in the language of the restaurant’s offered fare. But don’t be silly about it. Yes, I’m talking to you Outback Steakhouse.

Now, because only Congress can address issues of national security, let’s end this ridiculous practice of state troopers accompanying college football coaches onto the playing field for post-game handshakes. These coaches are surrounded by 75 fully padded college athletes, are we really worried about their safety?

Some people think this tradition began with legendary Alabama football coach Paul Bryant, but no one seems to be really sure. Why a guy whose nickname was “Bear” needed a security detail is a mystery, but now every big-time college coach has at least one state trooper at his side.

This does not seem to be the case with women’s college volleyball coaches.

And I don’t care if big college teams reimburse taxpayers for the overtime that state troopers rack up while escorting teams to and from crowded stadiums or even traveling with the teams on the road. I’m okay with that as long as the athletic departments are picking up the tab, but the shadowing of coaches onto the field just looks silly. Ban it!

And here’s an urgent issue Congress must address – those people who stand up on airplanes as soon as the plane arrives at the gate. Where do these people think they are going? There are 300 people in front of you to exit the plane, cool your jets: You aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Standing up and putting your backside into my face isn’t going to get you off this plane any faster.

For this offense to common courtesy, I propose a $50,000 fine and 75 hours of community service as a TSA pat-down agent. Problem solved – immediately.

If Congress cannot unite Americans around a simple package of reforms targeting annoying airline passengers, obnoxious college football coaches, and misleading bathroom doors, what can unite us?

Cam Savage is a principal at Limestone Strategies and a veteran of numerous Republican campaigns and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. He is a graduate of Franklin College. He can be reached at Cam@limestone-strategies.com.