bill advanced Thursday that includes five years of automatic gas tax hikes and a new $250 fee on electric and other zero emission vehicles to reauthorize the state Transportation Trust Fund was released by the Assembly Appropriations Committee Thursday.
The 5 to 4 vote along party lines to release the bill, A4011, came after an hour of testimony and objections Thursday afternoon. A companion bill in the state senate cleared the body’s appropriations committee on March 11 by a 9-4 vote.
The bill proposes changing the gas tax formula in fiscal year 2025, which starts on July 1, to raise $2.3 billion in revenue for the trust fund that finances major highway and transit projects. That revenue goal increases to $2.115 billion in fiscal year 2026, $2.119 billion in FY 2027, $2.366 billion in FY 2028 and $2.366 billion in FY 2029.
The bill also proposed a new electric vehicle fee that starts charging a $250 fee on July 1, 2024, that increases annually by $10 until reaching $290 on July 1, 2028. The fee would be paid at the same time the vehicle registration is renewed.
While the committee heard for groups representing business groups labor unions and environmental groups, Michael Cory was the lone person speaking for the average taxpayer, who said they’ve had enough of price and tax increases.
“Prices are through the roof, toll hikes, NJ Transit is raising fares, this another piece of legislation that will hurt hard working families,” said Cory, who said he is a contractor. “The gas tax makes people eyes roll. It’s a fundamental problem, it should be lower, not increased every change you get.”
Citing an annual report by the Reason Foundation that ranks New Jersey the worst for the cost to build and maintain roads, a study that the NJDOT questions the result of for its methodology.
“I work in construction. If we had that kind of quality issue, I’d be out of business,” Cory said. “We need to figure out how to get taxpayers value for their money. We need…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply