'Rainy day fund,' new gas taxes are needed for highways

Maylon T. Rice
Maylon T. Rice

This past week, four of the quietest state senators in the Grand Old Party of Arkansas, made a bold proposal -- to raise the gas tax rate for cars and diesel trucks.

A bold, yet practical step by a quartet of hard-working, go-about-their-business Republicans in the 35-member state senate was to propose a two-tiered plan to raise the current gas taxes about eight cents per gallon.

These four senators are also half of the eight members of the state Senate's Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs' committee. They are all quiet, hard-working, low-key politicians.

So who are these behind-the-scenes senators, these guys who often dodge the political spotlight in the "Upper Chamber?"

They are State Senators Bill Sample of Hot Springs, Jimmy Hickey of Texarkana, Ronald Caldwell of Wynne and Greg Standridge of Russellville.

See, I told you these guys were not household names nor nightly TV news seekers like (sadly) our own State Sen. Bart Hester of Cave Springs, or Conway's state Sen. Jason Rapert or even the often contrarian state Sen. Brian King of Green Forrest.

These four workmen of the state senate have mulled over these issues of highway funding for quite some time. They have each long-labored on a class "C" committee, not exactly the pick of the litter when it comes time to hand out committee assignments.

These four senators have spent eons of time pouring over budgets, hearing witness after witness, state agency after state agency and even those in the transportation industry extol the need for more and better highway financing.

These four do not need a history lesson to know that not too long ago, in 2013, Arkansas raised its state sales tax from 6 to 6.5 percent on July 1, and revenue from the increase was to pay for a major highway improvement program.

Arkansas voters approved the half-cent sales tax increase in November 2012, when they voted for Issue 1 by a margin of 58 percent to 42 percent.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has a quick, but, sadly, not a permanent fix for the highway dollars.

He will get the legislature in an upcoming special session to use $40 million of a "Rainy Day Fund" for a quick fix. Those dollars will be matched by Uncle Sam almost $4 for every $1 spent by the state. So let's make it clear. The Obama Administration will help Arkansas gain many more federal funds for highways, after its Republican governor gives away part of his "Rainy Day Funding" available for state highway spending.

Hutchinson and some of the nay-sayers of the GOP are still proudly pounding their chests about not raising any taxes.

Yet those "Rainy Day Funds," gentle readers, are your tax dollars.

There is also increased talk about if this gas-tax hike gets off the ground that more tax cuts need to be made to offset any tax hike.

As long as the new and added fuel taxes follow the cars and the projects which will benefit from those new taxes are done in areas where the cars are -- that would be, indeed, a welcome to us all.

We all should know this: The best ideas and legislation does not always come from those camera hounds down in Little Rock.

Sometimes the best legislation comes from those public servants who went down to Little Rock to quietly take care of the citizens' business.

Messieurs Sample, Hickey, Caldwell and Standridge need to be heard from.

Their idea certainly has traction with those of us who feel the "highway dollars, ought to follow the cars (and big trucks)."

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Maylon Rice is a former journalist who worked for several northwest Arkansas publications. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Editorial on 05/18/2016