STRUCTURE, FUNDING, REFORM
Many of South Carolina’s roads and bridges are in a deplorable state of disrepair. No one who’s spent much time driving across the state will dispute that. Yet the solution put forward by many State House politicians and some organizations – raise the gas tax and send new revenue to road repair – isn’t the simple solution many assume it is.
The fundamental problem is not that the state doesn’t have enough money for the maintenance and repair of roads. Indeed, transportation officials don’t know how much more money the system needs – or if it needs any more money at all. Projections of funding requirements have not been based on realistic assessments, and in some cases the sources of those projections are highly suspect.But there is a way forward, and it’s both uncomplicated and achievable.
In this report, we explain how South Carolina’s road funding system works, who controls that system, the phony reforms some politicians have put forward, and what can be done to fix our roads and make the system accountable to taxpayers.