Sullivan Supports Long-Term Road Funding Plan

Key House Committee Passes Comprehensive Road Funding Package

 State Rep. Holli Sullivan (R-Evansville) voted in favor of a long-term road funding proposal presented to members of the House Committee on Roads and Transportation.

“This plan will finish what we started and take care of what we need when it comes to our roads and bridges,” Sullivan said. “Officials from Southwest Indiana testified in support of the plan that would fund local projects. We will continue to examine this policy as we work to ensure Indiana’s infrastructure is sound and safe for years to come.”

According to Sullivan, co-author of the bill, over the next 20 years Indiana will need on average more than an additional $1.2 billion annually to maintain and improve roads and bridges.

Sullivan said House Bill 1002 offers a responsible and data-driven road funding plan, calls for increasing user fees by 10 cents per gallon on gasoline, special fuel and motor carrier surcharge taxes to restore buying power lost to inflation. The gasoline tax has not been increased since 2003 and the other fees haven’t been increased since 1988. Under this plan, Sullivan said the average Hoosier motorist would only pay about $4 more per month at the pump. Moving forward, these fuel tax rates would adjust by up to 1 cent per gallon based on inflation.

Under House Bill 1002, the remaining 4.5 cents of the sales tax on gasoline would be shifted from the state’s general fund to the State Highway Fund. Sullivan said this helps ensure all taxes paid at the pump are dedicated to funding road and bridge improvements.

Sullivan said the moneys would provide a stable and sustainable source of funding for Indiana’s Community Crossings Matching Grant Fund, which provides road funding dollars to local governments.

If passed, House Bill 1002 would also require the Indiana Department of Transportation to study tolling and submit a waiver to the federal government to allow tolling on existing interstates.

The bill can now be considered by the House Committee on Ways and Means Committee, which Sullivan also serves on.