Tax hikes and election years just don't go together

Utah legislators are in a pickle.

They understand that to meet the real needs of transportation in this state, they need a better tax source.

And true to conservative principles, that source should be some kind of user fee.

In other words, those who use the state's roads should pay for their upkeep and expansion. And with billions of dollars in unmet needs and rush-hour-clogged urban roads, that means some kind of higher user tax.

Reaching those goals would be wise, responsible government.

OK, sounds good.

But the political reality is much different.

How do you raise more money from highway users when gasoline prices are hitting $3 a gallon?

How do you raise any tax when state government is running a $260 million surplus this year?

And how do you raise any taxes when you've been cutting taxes over two years by millions of dollars as the hot Utah economy pumps more and more surplus taxes into state government?

Finally, how do you raise any tax in a year when you are up for re-election?

A fine pickle, indeed.

Despite all the talk from Capitol Hill about fixing the very troubled road needs in 2008, don't bet on anything of substance happening next year.

GOP Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. faces re-election in 2008.

So do all 75 House members and half of the 29-member Senate.

Huntsman has already said he'll serve only two terms, should he be re-elected — which looks pretty sure right now.

Thus, after 2008 Huntsman can push any number of unpopular but needed actions, including some kind of tax hike for roads.

2009 would also be an off-election year for legislators.

Even though by far, most legislators are technically beyond defeat in their specially carved-up districts — assuming no scandal or personal screw-up — there are still some legislators who remember the election of 1988 and the very unpopular tax hikes of 1987.

Former GOP Gov. Norm Bangerter and the Republican legislative majority raised a number of taxes in 1987, most of which went to help public education.

But, driven by conservative talk radio, there was a taxpayer uprising. In the end, the 1988 elections put Bangerter back in office for another term, and there was no purging of legislators.

However, political scars remain today from that controversy — and governmental controversy is something that mild-mannered conservative Utahns don't like.

So, ways will be found around the road-tax problem — at least in the short run.

Currently, the state's transportation fund is getting around $300 million from the state's general sales tax. Many legislators see that transfer of general tax revenues as breaking the decadeslong tradition of funding roads from fuel and other vehicle special taxes and fees.