After a substitute measure enacting a $0.6 per gallon excise tax increase for gasoline and diesel fuel was approved Tuesday afternoon by the Oklahoma House Joint Committee on Appropriations and Budget, a local advocacy coalition dedicated to rebuilding the state’s transportation infrastructure praised the efforts of lawmakers regarding HB 1035X.
“A longstanding component of the TRUST legislative agenda is supporting an overall increase in transportation funding,” said Neal McCaleb, President of Transportation Revenues Used Strictly for Transportation (TRUST). “For Oklahoma to prosper economically, we must have modern and safe highways, roads and bridges. Presently, Oklahoma ranks 49th in the nation in fuel tax rates with our gasoline tax $0.15 per gallon below the national average and $0.42 below the highest rate, and our diesel tax $0.18 per gallon below the national average and $0.80 below the highest rate.”
“Implementing a responsible increase on motor fuel excise taxes, and allocating those new revenues to transportation-related projects, will allow Oklahoma to continue to build the type of transportation infrastructure system needed in a 21st century economy,” said McCaleb. “Due to the legislature’s commitment since 2006, tremendous progress has been made on the state and county highway systems, and the members of TRUST support a modest fuel excise tax increase to continue that momentum.”