Ga. highway funding quest hampered by potholes, detours, dead ends | savannahnow.com

Road-construction advocates offer a handful of ideas for boosting DOT’s finances.

One is simply to increase the gas tax. No one has offered a specific amount publicly yet. But Georgia’s tax rate is below the national average, and the typical driver pays $85 annually toward state road building and maintenance, which is much lower than the general perception, Golden said.

The idea is unlikely to fly because a large number of legislators got elected on a pledge against any tax increase.

Another idea is to change the basis of the tax from the fuel purchased to the actual miles driven. A device in each vehicle would record the miles and tally the cost for each driver to pay while filling up. However, many conservatives worry about compromising motorists’ privacy.

A third idea is to remove a major expense from DOT by having the state’s general budget pay off bonds issued for road building. After all, no other state agency has to use part of its operating funds for debt service.

via Ga. highway funding quest hampered by potholes, detours, dead ends | savannahnow.com.