S.2 establishes the Interstate Lane Expansion Fund that will annually receive non-tax revenues equal to the amount of revenue projected from the sales, use, and causal excise taxes derived from the sale, use, or titling of a motor vehicle. The bill would transfer these tax revenues in all but name, revenues which are currently dedicated to schools and the general fund. Once in the fund the revenues must be used by the State Infrastructure Bank (STIB) to issue revenue bonds for the purpose of constructing an increased number of lanes on mainline interstates. The particular interstates to be expanded would be solely at the discretion of the STIB.
This is a bad idea for multiple reasons. First, the state should be focused on road maintenance not expansion and the STIB has historically been focused exclusively on expansion and has also favored a few select counties with its funding at the expense of the rest of the state. Second, any funds transferred from one dedicated source to another will most likely be made up through increased taxes/fees or through borrowing which is simply a delayed form of taxation.