SC lawmakers eye gas-tax hike
A bipartisan group of S.C. lawmakers told business leaders Monday they are ready to raise the state’s gas tax — one of the lowest in the nation — to repair roads and bridges. But, they added, they need the support of Republican Gov. Nikki Haley.
Haley, who is seeking re-election, has said she would veto increasing South Carolina’s 16-cent-a gallon gas tax, which has not been increased in 27 years.
“Common sense says we can’t stay in 1987,” state Sen. Karl Allen, D-Greenville, said at the annual meeting of the S.C. Alliance to Fix Our Roads.
Sens. Danny Verdin of Laurens and Paul Campbell of Berkeley, both Republicans, also said they support raising the gas tax. But, they added, lawmakers and business leaders need to get Haley on board instead of trying to win enough votes to override her veto, which requires the approval of two-thirds of lawmakers.
“We don’t need to drive the train and drive it over the governor,” Verdin said.
A poll of 800 Republicans by the S.C. Chamber of Commerce found a near tie over a gas-tax hike. The business group supports paying to improve roads with a package of funding that could include raising the fuel tax, the nation’s lowest except for New Jersey and Alaska.
The most support in the chamber poll came for raising the gas tax by a penny each year for a decade, eventually adding 10 cents to the price of a gallon of gas.
A GOP lawmaker said Republican politicians, who control the state Legislature, can support a gas-tax hike without alienating voters.
Rep. Tommy Stringer, R-Greenville, joked he “tried to commit political suicide” by introducing an unsuccessful bill to index the gas tax to inflation. Even after that, Stringer won his June GOP primary with nearly 80 percent of the vote.
But a state senator said the gas-tax hike faces a different hurdle for some lawmakers.
Sen. Glenn Reese, D-Spartanburg, said mandatory roll-call voting hurts chances to raise taxes and fees to pay for roads because some lawmakers are concerned about how people in their districts will react. “The purpose (of roll-call voting) was to expose, but what it did was kill legislation,” Reese said.
House Majority Leader Bruce Bannister, R-Greenville, predicted the General Assembly will pass a bill to aid roads and bridges. He said a gas-tax hike likely would be a part of the plan, and he expects Haley to support the increase if lawmakers can offset the tax hike by cutting another fee or tax.
However, state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, noted voters can elect a governor and state lawmakers in November who support efforts to build roads through any means necessary.
Haley has said she plans to unveil a roads plan in January if she wins re-election. That timing has drawn criticism from her opponents who say voters should see her proposal before they go to ballot boxes in November. In the past, Haley has pitched using state surplus money — what she called the “money tree” — for roads.
“Raising taxes, legalizing gambling or secretly increasing fees simply aren’t the kinds of ideas our citizens deserve,” Haley spokesman Doug Mayer said Monday. “(T)he governor will continue advocating for revenue-neutral solutions.”
Like Haley, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Vincent Sheheen opposes raising the fuel tax. Sheheen, a Camden state senator, has said he wants use state bonds to kick-start road funding and eventually require 5 percent of the state’s revenues go toward transportation.
Petition candidate for governor Tom Ervin, a former Greenville legislator, supports raising the gas tax.
State transportation officials have said the state needs an added $42 billion over the next three decades to handle its road needs.
This story was originally published September 23, 2014 at 7:21 AM.