INDIANAPOLIS (Jan. 28, 2016) – The House Ways and Means Committee voted in favor of State Rep. Ed Soliday’s (R-Valparaiso) bill providing sustainable, long-term road funding for the state of Indiana.
“As the Crossroads of America, Indiana needs to improve and maintain its infrastructure,” Soliday said. “This bill is a responsible, data-driven solution to meet our state’s immediate and long-term needs.”
Soliday said the state’s stationary gas tax is losing ground to inflation, and generating less revenue due to improved fuel efficiency. This bill calls for the gas tax, which has not been increased in more than 10 years, to be indexed to reflect the change in buying power from 2002 to today.
Currently, the equivalent of only one cent of the sales tax on gasoline is dedicated to the Motor Vehicle Highway Account. This bill would capture an additional 4 cents for roads and bridges. To offset the shift of gas sales taxes, the bill provides new revenue for Medicaid to be generated from an increased cigarette tax– allowing existing funds to be redirected back to roadways.
House Bill 1001 includes a personal income tax rate reduction to be phased in over 10 years. Once fully implemented, Indiana would have the lowest personal income tax in the nation.
In addition, the comprehensive legislation calls for a study of tolling for I-65 and I-70. If implemented, tolling could bring in $1 million a day to be used for maintenance of roads and bridges.
Soliday’s bill can now be heard by all members of the House.
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Rep. Soliday represents the city of Valparaiso, all of Center, Union and Washington townships and portions of Liberty and Jackson townships.
