News

Indiana – A central Indiana task force is recommending imposing a local sales tax and building express toll lanes to fund a $10 billion regional transportation plan. The task force is a private-sector collaboration of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, and the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

A portion of the $10 billion plan would be paid for out of the current $8.9 billion, 25-year roadway expansion plan, deferring about $600 million of previously planned local road projects and shifting that money to other infrastructure projects.  The rest of the cost would be covered by revenues from a .35 percent to .5 percent local sales tax and building express toll lanes on state highways running through Indianapolis.  Indiana’s current sales tax rate is 7 percent.

Building the express toll lanes is projected to cost $21 million and $12.2 million annually to operate.  The toll lanes are projected generate $29 million annually in revenues.

The plan also calls for an expanded bus and rail system which would cost $2.4 billion to build plus $107 million to operate annually.  Riders would pay for about 20 percent of annual operating costs, and $56 million would come from the existing IndyGo bus system.  New revenue from the sales tax would cover the rest.

Wyoming – The Wyoming State Senate passed a bill on Thursday authorizing $350,000 to study installing tolls on Interstate 80.  The bill passed on an 18-12 roll-call vote.

Supporters of the bill said it is necessary to show the Federal Highway Administration that the state is serious about pursuing a toll road.

Wyoming Department of Transportation officials said that a toll of $30 per truck and $3 per car would raise $120 million per year, the equivalent of a 28 cent gas tax increase.

Gas Prices – Gas prices are expected to rise this summer. Crude oil prices continue to rise as demand grows in China.  Experts say the corresponding increase in gasoline prices won’t be far behind.  Pump prices historically rise this time of year as refineries switch to a more expensive grade of gas.  With gas already above $2.60 across most of the state, experts say we can expect to see it top the $3 mark in the upcoming months.

Travel Up Slightly – Americans are estimated to have driven 2.932 trillion miles during 2009, which is a .2 percent increase over the previous year according to data released last week by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).  This slight increase in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) comes on the heels of a 3.4 percent drop in VMT the previous year – the first annual decline ever shown by FHWA which has collected estimates of American’s driving distances since 1984.

State Budget Woes – State tax revenues declined by 4.1 percent during the final quarter of 2009, the fifth consecutive quarter of reduced collections, according to a report released by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York at Albany.

The report points out that the five straight quarters of decline represents a record length of such decreases.  “States will likely face further revenue weakness in the first quarter of 2010,” said Lucy Dadayan author of the report. Click here to view the report.