The first notion to debunk is the idea that gas taxes are purely user fees.

Yes, they are paid at the pump by people who drive vehicles, and they do go directly toward helping to fund highways. But their impact is felt throughout the economy.

Every grocery item, every retail item in any store, the cost of doing business with just about anyone who has to use ground transportation — all of these have a bit of the cost of gas taxes built in. Even the proverbial little old lady or man who doesn't own a car and who walks from an apartment to the grocery store pays a portion of the gas taxes that make the goods for sale available.

And because transit typically has been underfunded in Utah, as well as in most of the United States, government has forced nearly everyone to buy a car and use the roads. This "user fee" isn't a voluntary funding mechanism. Most adults have little choice but to pay.

The second notion that needs clarification is the one that holds out hope state lawmakers will raise gas taxes this year to help fund the billions of dollars needed for construction or widening projects. The next legislative session will take place during an election year. It also is not very likely that gasoline prices will have dropped much by then. Recent increases have made the price per gallon a frequent topic of casual conversation. Drivers are angry. They seem in no mood to entertain a tax hike that would raise the per gallon price.

And yet the highway needs remain.

We suggest a continued robust public discussion about ways to meet this need, discussions similar to the ones in committee hearings last week. That discussion must include not only different funding mechanisms, but their unintended consequences.

For instance, gas taxes may become a less effective funding source as the high price of gasoline forces the market to produce and purchase more fuel-efficient vehicles. The less people need to fill up their cars, the less they pay gas taxes.

Likewise, the suggestion that drivers pay a tax based on the miles they drive, rather than the gas they use, might have the effect of removing an incentive to buy fuel-efficient cars. People would not save any in taxes by doing so.

Congestion pricing is an idea worth serious consideration. It would charge drivers more for using high-traffic areas during peak driving hours. The Utah Taxpayers Association also has an intriguing plan that would double gas taxes and impose an equivalent drop in state income taxes. Utah Issues, a low-income advocacy group, would apply the state's 4.75 percent sales tax on gasoline sales, which would be figured on top of the gas tax. Toll roads also remain an option.

A portion of the state's highway needs already comes from general sales taxes. Once you move away from the notion that gas taxes are pure user fees, tapping other funding sources becomes less objectionable.

The cold and unrelenting fact is that the state is growing quickly and needs more highways, including the Mountain View Corridor along the west side of Salt Lake and Utah counties. The final notion to debunk is that this need can be met without people having to pay for it somehow.