H.3088 is a joint resolution to conduct an advisory referendum in the 2018 election to gauge voters’ support for a gas tax increase. The question would ask if voters would be in favor of increasing the motor fuel tax and the road tax for the next ten years for a total of ten cents per gallon. The excess revenue would be used to supplement road maintenance and repair.
The problem with this resolution is that it is, by its name, a referendum that only advises the General Assembly. They will not be held to enact the voters’ wishes following the referendum, whether for or against the gas tax. Further, lawmakers still haven’t proven road maintenance to be a revenue problem. Existing infrastructure money is spent unwisely, and the road funding system should be made accountable to taxpayers before politicians debate tax hikes.