H.3708 and H.3709 would each impose 50 cents surcharges on costs associated with public parking in order to raise revenue for roads. H.3708 imposes an additional 50 cent surcharge on all parking tickets with the resulting revenue being credited to the state highway fund. H.3709 imposes an additional 50 cent surcharge on parking in a garage owned by a local government or airport district or aviation authority. Again, the revenues from the surcharges imposed by H.3709 would be credited to the state highway fund.
The same criticism applies to this bill as all other attempts to increase the tax and fee burden on citizen in order to increase road funding. State government does not need more revenue to improve state roads, it needs to better manage the resources it has. Taxpayers shouldn’t be asked to shell out more money to cover up fiscal mismanagement by the state.