State lawmakers on Wednesday are set to unveil a revised transportation funding bill that cuts the proposal’s bottom line to avoid appearances of a tax increase.
House leaders on Wednesday presented the amendment to House Bill 170 to the House Rules Committee. The amendment would lower the proposed state excise tax from 29.2 cents per gallon to 24 cents a gallon and will have to be voted on by the full House when the bill reaches the floor on Thursday.
One estimate shows the change would decrease the bill's impact by $127.31 million per year, lowering it's ultimate fiscal impact from $884.7 million to $757.39 million in the first year. Although House Majority Leader Larry O'Neal, R-Bonaire, said Wednesday that each penny of the excise tax would raise an estimated $60 million, meaning the amendment he proposed would actually lower the bill's impact by $300 million.
The change is a compromise with lawmakers worried about being accused of raising taxes. The decreased state tax is a direct result of an earlier compromise that allowed local governments to keep their existing special option sales taxes. The original bill phased those out in exchange for a possible local excise tax.
The amendment to be presented today prevents the higher state excise tax from being added on top of the local sales tax.
Sponsored by Rep. Jay Roberts, R-Ocilla, HB 170 is expected to be voted out of the Rules Committee this morning and debated on the House floor on Thursday.
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