Search Results for: gas tax

DFL-Controlled Legislature Hands $8 Billion Transportation Bill to Walz for Signature

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A nearly $8 billion finalized transportation bill has cleared the House and Senate and is on its way to the desk of Gov. Tim Walz to be signed into law.

On Sunday, the DFL-controlled House and Senate voted along party lines to pass the conference committee report for HF2887. That omnibus transportation finance bill includes nearly $1 billion in new taxes and fees dedicated to transit and roads that will come from three sources: a new metropolitan area sales tax increase of 0.75 percent, a 50-cent fee for all deliveries of retail goods over $100 and a gas tax increase indexed to inflation. An increase in fees for automobile registrations and a sales tax increase for purchase of automobiles will also add more than $340 million in new revenues for transportation expenditures over the next two years.

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Pennsylvania Readies to Send Out $62 Million for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

The Center Square

As Pennsylvania officials discuss an electric vehicle fee to replace the gas tax, federal funds are available to build out the EV charging infrastructure in the commonwealth.

On Monday, PennDOT announced its first round of funding will open on March 27 and close May 5 for EV stations across Pennsylvania. The money will flow through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure grant program, with $25 million available for fiscal year 2022 and $37 million for fiscal year 2023, according to a news release.

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Ohio Democratic Senatorial Candidate Changes Stance on Confronting Inflation

Hannah Poling

Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) has shown support for regulations that would prevent inflation while simultaneously favoring larger spending bills.

This year Ryan voted against preventing regulations that would cause inflation and a gas tax hike.

However, in late 2021 he favored a larger spending bill (“Build Back Better”) over a slimmed-down plan favored by moderate Democratic senators. Ryan said that Democrats should not minimize the extent of inflation but rather emphasize “Build Back Better” as a way to address it.

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Brian Kemp Accuses Stacey Abrams of Flip-Flopping on Key Issues

Addison Basurto

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) took his opponent, Stacey Abrams(D), to task, when he called her out for her inability to stick to a stance on political issues in a statement released on Tuesday. 

“Stacey Abrams opposed suspending the gas tax and returning $1 billion to taxpayers, but now she’s on my record. She can’t have it both ways. Abrams has embraced the policies of Joe Biden that have led to disaster at the border, high gas prices, and empty grocery shelves,” Governor Kemp said. 

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Virginia House, Senate Pass Fiscal Year 2023 Budget Compromise

Eric Burk

RICHMOND, Virginia — The Republican-controlled House of Delegates and the Democrat-controlled Senate finally sent a budget compromise for Fiscal Year 2023 beginning July 1 to Governor Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday, but while leaders from both parties praised the budget, individual Democrats and Republicans criticized the compromise for problems ranging from no gas tax holiday to cuts on mental health resources.

House Appropriations Chair Barry Knight (R-Virginia Beach) told delegates, “It’s been a long haul, but I believe the result is a fiscally sound, bipartisan budget we can all be proud of.”

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Top Negotiators Del. Knight and Sen. Howell Announce Budget Deal to The Washington Post and The Richmond Times-Dispatch

Eric Burk

After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations, General Assembly budget negotiators revealed details of a deal in a Thursday briefing with only reporters from The Washington Post and The Richmond Times-Dispatch. According to their reporting, the deal includes significant wins for both sides, including a major increase of the standard deduction but no gas tax holiday.

The private budget negotiations and the exclusive briefing are drawing criticism from Virginia reporters.

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Michigan House OKs $81 Billion Budget with Drone, E-Bike Funding

The Center Square
Joe Tate

Michigan House Democrats passed budget bills totaling nearly $81 billion – larger than Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recommendation.

Republicans in the minority for the first time in 40 years decried the spending proposals as wasteful as Democrats said the budget would invest in all Michiganders.

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Kari Lake Senate Campaign Rally in Cave Creek: This Election Will Be ‘Too Big to Rig’

Rachel Alexander
Kari Lake Rally

Hundreds turned out Thursday evening in Cave Creek for a “Win the West Rally” at Frontier Town with Kari Lake.

The former gubernatorial candidate discussed how to defeat Democrats this fall, particularly how she intended to beat Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat.

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Michigan Lawmakers Want Mass Transit Between Grand Rapids, Detroit, Ann Arbor

The Center Square
City Buss

Michigan Democratic lawmakers want mass transit between Grand Rapids, Detroit and Ann Arbor but don’t know how to pay for it.

State Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, majority caucus chair & Education Committee chair, posted on social media that mass transit would prevent young people from leaving the state.

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Lawmaker: Vehicle Repair Fund Exists Because Michigan Roads Aren’t Fixed

The Center Square
Michigan Pot Holes

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2025 budget includes $5 million for a car repair program.

The program would fund vehicle repairs, purchases and other services to obtain and retain employment not to exceed $2,000 in the past year – the same cap as last year’s budget but more than double from the $900 cap in the year prior.

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Despite Concerns, $290 Electric Vehicle Fee Proposal Advances in Pennsylvania

The Center Square

Although a bill that creates an electric vehicle fee in Pennsylvania cleared a House committee on Monday, it’s unlikely to pass in its current form.

Senate Bill 656, sponsored by Sen. Greg Rothman, R-New Bloomfield, would replace the alternative fuel tax with a $290 EV fee paid at the time of vehicle registration. Owners would also have the option of enrolling in a monthly payment plan. 

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Exclusive: State Senator Mark Pody Previews School Safety Bill Proposal Set to Be Introduced Next Week

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In this engaging interview on Tuesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, State Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon) previews for listeners his new idea for school safety. The longtime lawmaker emphasizes the importance of this comprehensive approach to school safety and highlights the need to protect teachers from assaults and false accusations.

In addition to discussing the school safety bill, the interview offers a peek behind the curtain of the Tennessee General Assembly into the complex process of navigating and passing legislation.

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Georgia Flush with Nearly $11 Billion in Cash Reserves, $5.4 Billion in Rainy Day Fund: State Report

Tom Pappert

Georgia has accrued nearly $11 billion in cash reserves, invested the maximum legal amount into its rainy day fund, and tucked more than $2 billion into its lottery reserve fund, according to a government report published Monday.

The State Accounting Office published its report for the budget year ending in June 2023 this week, revealing the state has just over $10.7 billion cash on hand. Georgia also boasts almost $5.4 billion in its rainy day fund, which is at its constitutional limit, and $2.1 billion in its lottery reserve fund.

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Second GOP Presidential Debate Turns Into a Rhetorical Brawl as Candidates Jockey for Position in Trump-Dominated Race

M.D. Kittle

In a second GOP presidential debate that often seemed more like a disorderly reality TV show, the Babylon Bee’s satirical news headline may have best captured the mood of viewers: ‘Mute Button’ Wins GOP Debate.

The seven Republican candidates on stage at Wednesday evening’s gladiator match in Simi Valley’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Library shouted and talked over each other and slung more mud than an Iowa hog farm.

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Report: Michigan’s Infrastructure Worse than National Averages

The Center Square

A new report found Michigan’s infrastructure is generally “worse than the national averages” and is a factor of statewide population loss.

The infrastructure problems range from road pavement quality to unreliable electricity causing frequent, long power outages, to outdated water infrastructure such as sanitary sewers, stormwater and flood control.

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Georgia Awards $195.4 Million in Transportation Projects in April

The Center Square

The Georgia Department of Transportation awarded 16 projects valued at more than $195.4 million in April.

Of the projects awarded, 61% were for reconstruction, while the rest was for bridge construction (32%), resurfacing (5%), safety (2%) and bridge rehabilitation (1%).

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States Legislatures Adapt to Electric Vehicles

The Center Square

As President Joe Biden’s administration wants 50% of all new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, some states are pushing bills to subsidize the industry. 

In an analysis of state legislatures by The Center Square staff, actions so far this year in multiple states offer recognition to the emergence of the industry – whether trying to make up tax revenue shortfalls or simply boosting the move away from gas and diesel automobiles.

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Tennessee Legislature Alters Airport Funding, Nashville Airport Board

The Center Square

The Tennessee Legislature continued to change the way its airports are funded through legislation passed in the final days of session.

A bill to lower the state’s corporate aviation fuel tax cap to $1 million per company passed along with a bill to reconstitute the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority and several budget appropriations to individual airports and the state’s airports as a whole.

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Virginia Ranks First in Highway Performance and Cost

The Center Square

Virginia has been crowned No. 1 for best highways in the country for performance and cost-effectiveness, according to a new report.

The commonwealth’s highway system moved up one spot from last year, according to The Reason Foundation’s 27th annual Highway Report. Within the report’s key metrics, Virginia also ranked No. 1 overall and in the “capital-bridge disbursements ratio” category.

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Nashville Airport Bill Amended to Change Nomination Structure

The Center Square

A bill set to give the state of Tennessee more power in nominations to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) was amended and passed Wednesday by the Senate Transportation and Safety Committee.

The seven-member board now includes nominees from the Nashville mayor that were then approved by Metro Nashville’s council. The bill would make an eight-member board with two appointees each from the Tennessee governor, House speaker, Senate speaker and Nashville mayor.

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Proposed Electric Vehicle Fee Falls Short of Solving Pennsylvania’s Infrastructure Woes

The Center Square

As electric vehicles overtake Pennsylvania’s roads, lawmakers still have to sort out two things – how to tax them to fund roads and bridges, and how to build out reliable charging stations.

While neither issue has a quick and easy solution, a pilot tax project will grow revenue, and federal cash will expand an electric charging corridor across the state.

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Clint Brewer Praises Gov. Bill Lee’s Transportation Infrastructure Plans

Julie Carr

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in studio to comment upon Governor Bill Lee’s State of the State address and his plans for transportation infrastructure.

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State Senator Jack Johnson Outlines Problems and Solutions for Tennessee Transportation Infrastructure

Julie Carr

Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee State Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson in studio to discuss the problems with Nashville’s transportation infrastructure and practical and proven solutions to fix it.

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Study: Michigan Toll Roads Could Cost $10 Billion Now to Raise $2 Billion by 2030

The Center Square

The Michigan Department of Transportation has commissioned a study about enacting highway toll roads to raise revenue to fix roads.

The study follows a growing tax revenue hole from increasing fuel efficiency that leads to fewer fillups at the pump and more electric vehicles whose drivers don’t pay state or federal fuel tax.

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Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: Identity Politics Absurdities and the Ridiculousness of Reparations

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The last time racial reparations made the major news was on the eve of September 11, 2001 attacks. The loss of 3,000 Americans, which for a time fueled a new national unity, quickly dispelled the absurdities of the reparation movement, and turned our attention toward more existential issues.

Now the idea is back in vogue again. Here are 10 reasons why the nation’s—and especially California’s—discussions of reparatory payouts are dangerous in a multiracial state, and why reparations are not viable either in an insolvent state or a bankrupt nation at large.

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Speaker Vos Vilified ‘Rogue Holdouts’ in 2017

M.D. Kittle
Robin Vos

As tempers flare in the Republican battle for Speaker of the House, the anti-establishment conservatives blocking Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid are being likened to pirates — and worse.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a McCarthy loyalist, called the Republican defectors terrorists. They’ve reportedly been described as the “Taliban 19.”

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Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: The 10 Steps to Save America

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Most Americans know something has gone terribly wrong—and very abruptly—with the United States. They are certain that our wounds are almost all self-inflicted. The current pathologies are not a result of a natural disaster, an exhaustion of natural resources, plagues, or an existential war.

Crushing national debt and annual deficits, spiraling food and fuel costs amid “normal” seven-percent-plus annual inflation, bread-and-circuses entitlements, a nonexistent border, a resurgence of racial tribalism, pandemic violent criminality, and humiliation abroad—all these pathologies are easily cited as symptoms of a sick patient. Our crises are not as the Left maintains—a nine-person Supreme Court, the Electoral College, or the filibuster—all distractions from existential problems the Left largely created.

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Gov. Lee Proposes Toll Lanes, Electric Vehicle Registration Fee Increase

The Center Square

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and the Department of Transportation are looking to raise the annual vehicle registration fees for electric vehicles up to three times to $300 along with adding potential toll commuter lanes.

The proposals come as Lee and the department claim that the state needs $26 billion in funding toward road congestion, with $14 billion for the state’s four major metro areas and $12 billion for rural interstates.

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Inflation Is Harming Georgia’s Hispanic Community, Policy Group Says

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A pro-economic freedom group targeting the Hispanic community is sounding the alarm on the harm of inflation.

According to a report from Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee, the cost of inflation in Georgia exceeds the national average, costing families 12.1% more to live. Households in Georgia are paying $598 more per month and $7,175 more per year.

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Norment Wants Youngkin to ‘Intensify Focus’ on Virginia Issues

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin is scheduled for another round of stops supporting GOP candidates across the U.S., fueling speculation that he is evaluating a possible presidential campaign, and earning skepticism from Virginia politicians, including Senate Minority Leader Thomas Norment (R-James City.)

“I am hopeful that maybe he will intensify his focus on the Commonwealth’s issues,” Norment told reporters on August 19, and referenced the ambitions of Virginia’s recent governors.

“Doug Wilder wanted to be president. George Allen wanted to be president. Bob McDonald wanted to be president. Tim Kaine wanted to be next to the throne,” he said.

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The America Rising PAC Shares What Arizonans Should Know About Mark Kelly Going into the November General Election

Neil Jones

The America Rising PAC (ARPAC), a group dedicated to exposing the truth about Democrats, recently shared critical information regarding current Senator Mark Kelly (D) for Arizonans to know before the General Election in November.

“Contrary to his rhetoric on the campaign trail, Mark Kelly has been nothing but a rubber stamp for Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer’s devastating agenda,” shared ARPAC Press Secretary Whitney Robertson with the Sun Times via email. “If Arizonans are looking for a Senator who will actually put the people over politics, it’s time to send Kelly packing.”

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Governor Brian Kemp Holds Notable Lead over Stacey Abrams, According to New Poll

Cooper Moran

Governor Brian Kemp holds a notable lead over Democrat Stacey Abrams, according to a new poll commissioned by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).

The survey, which spoke to 1,197 likely Georgia voters, gave Kemp a 7-point edge over the Democrat in their rematch of the 2018 gubernatorial race.

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Kemp Vows to ‘Keep Fighting’ Inflation in Georgia

Peter D'Abrosca

The governor of Georgia Wednesday said he will continue battling to keep costs down for Georgians after the June Consumer Price Index report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was released.

That report showed 9.1 percent inflation, by far the highest one month increase in more than 40 years. 

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Carrie Sheffield Commentary: Biden’s Dizzying Energy Policy Is Even Making Climate Warriors Scratch Their Heads

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You’d think after achieving $5 a gallon nationwide gas prices and gutting domestic oil and gas producers, America’s environmental extremists would be elated and emboldened. But President Joe Biden’s energy policy is so incoherent, even Green New Deal socialists are frustrated, according to reporting by Politico’s Zack Colman.

“The climate advocates who cheered President Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House last year are preparing to give up on Washington,” Colman writes. “Instead, environmentalists and many of their Democratic allies are starting to shift their focus to state capitals as the places to press for action on climate change — going back to a strategy that they employed with some success during the Trump era.”

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Commentary: The Biden Bust Could be Coming to a Neighborhood Near You Soon

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For many readers, the above title will conjure up memories of the 2008 housing crash caused by the proliferation of subprime mortgages and the subsequent tsunami of defaults. But a better corollary for the coming Biden bust is the Carter crash that occurred three decades earlier. During the final two years of Carter’s term, sales of existing and new homes collapsed because the Fed was forced to raise interest rates sharply to get double-digit inflation under control. This, in turn, produced double-digit mortgage rates that priced millions of potential buyers out of the market.

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Youngkin’s Middle Road on Environment Frustrates Environmentalists and Hard-Line Republicans

Eric Burk

Governor Glenn Youngkin’s environmental policy is frustrating both environmentalists and hard-line Republicans. Since he took office, Youngkin has touted a middle road on energy policy although some Republicans think solar and wind are harmful for Virginia. On the other hand, Youngkin has reversed a plan to phase out single-use plastics for state agencies and tried unsuccessfully to withdraw from a regional greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program.

“We were obviously very disappointed in the direction that the administration is taking regarding offshore wind, but we’re not the only ones,” SUVGOP Senior Advisor Terry Johnson, a former Bush appointee, told The Virginia Star.

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Crom’s Crommentary: ‘Every Time I Think It Can’t Be Any Worse for the Democrats, They Do Something That Makes Me Shake My Head’

Julie Carr

Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio for another edition of Crom’s Crommentary.

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Biden Admin Considers Banning All Offshore Drilling as Energy Crisis Worsens: Report

Admin

The Biden administration is mulling the prospect of banning new American offshore oil and natural gas drilling projects as fuel prices continue to spike, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, working closely with the White House to shape policy, will release its drafted five-year plan for new oil and gas drilling leases in federal waters to Congress by June 30, according to The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter. The administration is likely to stop new offshore drilling projects in the Atlantic and the Pacific, and is considering whether to end leasing in the Arctic and Gulf of Mexico.

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Arizona Legislature Considering ‘Build Back Broke’ Type of Budget with Earmarks, Funding for School Social Workers, and Government Employee Pay Raises

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona Legislature is rushing to pass a budget before the 2022 session ends in a few days on June 30, but some Republican legislators are balking at agreeing to vote for the 12 budget bills due to the amount of spending, $17.9 billion. State Sen. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) tweeted on Monday, “Arizona’s version of @JoeBiden’s Build Back Broke (aka the legislature’s introduced budget) is not fiscally responsible. You cannot spend your way out of a looming recession.”

She objected to the budget adding an extra half a billion dollars. “I can’t think of anything more fiscally irresponsible than spending recklessly on member pet projects while Arizonans struggle to keep up with crushing inflation,” she tweeted. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona called the budget “bloated and wasteful.” 

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Youngkin Rallies at 2021 Campaign Location to Sign Budget

Eric Burk

HENRICO, Virginia — Governor Glenn Youngkin held a campaign-style rally to ceremonially sign Virginia’s Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budget. On Tuesday, Youngkin spoke from the aisles of the Tom Leonard’s grocery store where he filmed a grocery tax-related campaign ad and where he held one of his final rallies during the campaign.

“Nine months ago we were right here with many of you, and we in fact were talking about the impact that rising cost of groceries were have on families,” Youngkin said to a crowd of supporters, reporters, former GOP candidates, and current GOP politicians standing next to bins of produce.

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New Ad from Senator Mark Kelly Claims He Is ‘Taking on His Own Party’ to Combat Inflation

Cooper Moran

Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) released a new ad that will air in Phoenix and Tucson, claiming to be “taking on his own party” to combat inflation.

Kelly, a self-proclaimed individual focused on “independent leadership,” acknowledged the spike in consumer prices under President Joe Biden.

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Gov. Walz Offers Minnesotans $1,000 Checks to Spend Half of $9.2 Billion Surplus

The Center Square

Gov. Tim Walz suggested sending half of the state’s $9.2 billion surplus back to taxpayers in a 15-minute special session.

Walz last weekend proposed sending individuals $1,000, and married couples $2,000.

Only Walz can call a special session, but he hasn’t after a GOP and DFL broad deal for $4 billion in tax relief and $4 billion in savings disintegrated in May as the regular session concluded.

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TN-5 Congressional Candidate, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Tells Pelosi to Focus on America and the Real Issues the Country Is Facing

Julie Carr
Andy Ogles

Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed TN5 Congressional Candidate, Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles to the newsmaker line to weigh in on recent comments made to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, focusing on the economy, and what he’s seeing on the campaign trail.

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