The campaigns, elections and inaugurations are now over. We have new leadership at the federal, state and local levels. It is time for all of us to shake hands, put our minds together and unite our country. We have been polarized for far too long. I pray that new leadership from President Trump, on down to the local officials, will provide a fresh, new, productive government. Please join me in encouraging our leaders and wishing them all the best. If they succeed, we all succeed.
Already, a great deal of time and discussion has been concentrated on a long-term, comprehensive plan for highway and road funding. Many citizens are concerned, as are members of the legislature, and there is a lot of misinformation going around. Here are some facts.
Many don’t understand how little money is generated by the current gas tax. A penny raises about $31 million, which sounds like a lot of money, but when spread over the entire state, it will take several pennies to make a real difference.
Our current gas tax revenues have been declining for quite a few years due to increased fuel economy in vehicles, reducing the number of gallons purchased and thus, dollars collected.
The cost to maintain and build highways continues to increase, and now the state is caught between declining revenues for maintenance and increasing costs to repair our aging infrastructure. It is a flawed situation.
One of the biggest misconceptions is where the money collected from the gas tax will go. All gas tax revenue is dedicated to the Motor Vehicle Highway Fund. None of it is used for other functions of government. Constituents have told me that raising the gas tax is bearable, if all the money goes to highway maintenance for state and local roads. I agree with their statement. All the money must go to our highway system. The House Republican plan keeps funding in place for Community Crossing grants, a program that dedicates money to local infrastructure projects.
Indiana is one of seven states that charges sales tax on gasoline, and currently 2.5 cents of that 7 cents per gallon is collected and directed to the MVH fund. The proposal, in its current form, will collect the remaining 4.5 cents and dedicate it to MVH as well over the next three years.
This is a difficult problem to solve, but House Bill 1002 starts the discussion. No one wants to increase taxes, but our highways must remain a priority if we want to remain the Crossroads of America.
It should also be noted that over the last several years, the legislature has cut various taxes 10 times.
One of the bills I filed deals with the Miami County COIT or County Option Income Tax. Several years ago, special legislation was needed for the county to build a new jail and allow the county to finance it with a COIT. The jail was built, and the tax worked well to make the bond payments. More recently, the commissioners refinanced the bonds at a lower interest rate, creating a surplus in the jail COIT account. The original statute was written to only allow the funds to be used for capital expenses. House Bill 1142 would permit the commissioners and council to use the surplus dollars for operations and maintenance of the jail. By doing so, more property tax funds will be freed up for other county government obligations, providing some relief to the county general fund.
I want to congratulate the North Miami FFA Poultry Judging Team as they finished very well at the national judging contest. The FFA program at North Miami is a highly regarded program by many officials of our state.
Please continue to communicate with my office. Your opinions do matter, and it is your state government. There’s still time to complete your legislative survey and mail it in. You may also chose to complete it online at www.in.gov/h23. You can reach me by phone at 317-232-9981 or by email at h23@iga.in.gov.
More later,
Bill
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Rep. Bill Friend (R-Macy) represents House District 23,
which includes portions of Cass, Fulton and Miami counties.
A high-resolution photo of Friend can be downloaded by clicking here.
