Gas-tax hike may be on horizon for Utahns

Utah residents could be looking at a 12-cent gas-tax hike by 2019.

A bill that passed out of committee Wednesday would require the state to increase its gas tax by 2 cents every other year for a decade, beginning in 2009.

Utah currently taxes motorists 24.5 cents for every gallon of gasoline sold.

Rep. Wayne Harper, R-West Jordan, sponsor of HB158, said he knew the gas tax was controversial but that it was one way to help relieve congestion on state roads. The tax funds highway fixes, including widening and road-improvement projects.

"It may not be the best option, but if we don't address transportation, we're going to end up in worse gridlock than we have now, and that's more costly than this tax increase," Harper said.

He added that he plans to study the gas-tax increase during the interim, and that it may not be implemented if lawmakers find a better option.

Harper's bill was debated for more than an hour in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. It originally called for the state to adjust the gas tax every year to accommodate for inflation but was amended to accommodate concern from retailers.

The retailers said that it was easier to plan for a gas tax that was specific, rather than adjusted at different rates each year based on inflation.

"Historically our organization has been in favor of the cents-per-gallon method," said Lee Peacock, president of the Utah Petroleum Association. "It's a known system. We know the state knows how to administer it. The taxpayers and collectors know it."

Other concerns about Harper's bill came from Salt Lake County. In addition to the gas tax, the bill also dedicates about $20 million to $30 million to buy land for the proposed Mountain View Corridor.

The money for Mountain View would come from a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees that Salt Lake County passed last year. Also, money would come from a sales-tax increase that voters approved several years ago to fund highway fixes.

Salt Lake County Councilman Michael Jensen said that the county would prefer to be able to use the $10 registration increase to fund land purchases for any road, not just Mountain View. That was the intent of the county when it approved the increase last year, he said.

"I think it would be unfair to the other parts of the county based on our original discussion about implementation of the fee to only restrict it to Mountain View," Jensen said.

Harper said his intent in dedicating that money to Mountain View was to make sure that it does not become a toll road. The Utah Department of Transportation is now studying whether to make Mountain View a toll road to help pay for costs of construction.

Buying land for the road is estimated to cost about $450 million. UDOT currently has no funding for the highway.

HB158 now moves to the House floor for debate.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com