A Senate committee has stripped gas tax increases from a House bill, saying other sources of funding are available for road and bridge repairs.
The House bill proposed using a 5-cent-per-gallon increase in gasoline and diesel taxes to allow the state to issue bonds for $120 million in transportation improvements over the next three years.
But Senator Transportation Chair Dick Mazza says the taxes aren’t needed. Mazza says federal stimulus money, combined with the Douglas administration’s proposed increase in baseline spending, is sufficient for now.