Alabama drivers will begin paying an extra 6 cents in state gasoline tax by Labor Day as the result of legislation signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey today.
The Republican governor signed a three-bill package intended to raise more than $300 million a year for roads, the first increase in state fuel taxes since 1992.
The leaders of a Republican-controlled Legislature joined the governor for a bill signing at the State Capitol and said the plan would result in safer roads and bridges, faster travel and a stronger economy. Democratic leaders praised the plan. Lawmakers called it a bipartisan effort.
Ivey thanked legislators for their willingness to tackle the issue and they thanked her for leading the effort.
“Every penny that is raised through this new resource will be scrutinized, will be accounted for for infrastructure only, period,” the governor said.
The state tax on gasoline and diesel fuel will increase by 6 cents a gallon after Aug. 31, followed by an additional 2 cents a gallon on Oct. 1, 2020 and another 2 cents on Oct. 1, 2021. Beginning in 2023, it will be adjusted according to a national highway construction cost index. It could change by no more than a penny every two years.
The 10-cent per gallon increase will raise an estimated $320 million a year to fund road construction and maintenance. The Alabama Department of Transportation will get 67 percent of the money, counties will get 25 percent and cities 8 percent.
About $12 million a year will be allocated to a bond issue to widen and deepen the shipping channel in the port of Mobile to increase its capacity for cargo traffic. Federal funds will pay for 75 percent of that project.
Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said if people will study the numbers they will conclude that the gas tax plan was needed.
“Look at the bill, look at the facts, look at the stats,” Marsh said. “If you will do those things I will promise the citizens of this state that are watching, you will applaud this Legislature, what it has done today. It was time for this to be done.”
The Senate passed the gas tax bill today by a vote of 28-6. Twenty-two of the 27 Republican senators voted for it as did six of the eight Democrats.
The House had passed the legislation by a vote of 84-20 last week. Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, sponsored the bills with the backing of House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, who said he had worked on the issue for five years.
“This effort was necessary,” Poole said. “It is needed. It is critical to the future of this state. It is justified. And it is time that this state invest in infrastructure. It’s the spine of our economy and our everyday lives.”
Poole said Alabama’s funding for roads is the lowest in the southeast. He said the legislation includes safeguards that will direct the money to road construction and maintenance and won’t allow it to be spent on salaries, equipment, buildings or anything else not directly tied to a road project.
A political action committee organized to oppose the tax called it a betrayal of the voters who elected Republican leaders.
Ralph Long, chairman of the Stop the Alabama Gas Tax PAC, issued a statement after today’s votes.
“The events of the past week are a crying shame,” Long said. “Reflective of a widening chasm between Montgomery politicians and the hardworking people of this state. This will be a vote that the pocketbooks of voters will remind them of year after year.”
The Alabama Republican Party executive committee also opposed the tax. But the opponents’ arguments appeared to gain little traction in the State House. Only 18 of the 77 House Republicans voted against the tax.
Only two of the 28 House Democrats voted against it.
House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, D-Huntsville, supported the plan and said the result shows the Democrats can work effectively with Ivey and the Republican majority in the Legislature. Daniels, repeating a phrase he used last week after the House passed the bill, said lawmakers should address “human infrastructure.” Democratic legislators have called for Medicaid expansion for years.
“You will see more bipartisan efforts and us addressing the tough issues of this state as we move forward,” Daniels said.
Ivey said she would listen to Democrats’ concerns about Medicaid expansion and see where the facts lead.
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, praised Ivey for her willingness to endorse a tax increase.
“Most times people don’t want to own what they call a tax,” Singleton said.
Singleton said it was encouraging that senators from different parts of the state and both parties supported the plan.
“We all came together in the name of Alabamians believing and knowing that we had a decaying infrastructure that needed to be repaired,” he said.
Today’s votes wrapped up the special session that Ivey called to address the gas tax. It started on Wednesday and ended today, with lawmakers passing the plan in the minimum time, five meeting days.
The regular session of the Legislation, which began on March 5, resumes March 19.
Updated at 7:29 p.m. to add statement from Stop the Alabama Gas Tax.