JARED MILLER Star-Tribune capital bureau | Posted: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - A legislative panel will consider ways to boost state highway maintenance funding when it meets in Douglas this week.
The Legislature's Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee on Thursday is slated to discuss a proposal to spend more mineral severance tax dollars on state highway maintenance.
The committee will also receive an update on a controversial plan to impose tolls on trucks on Interstate 80.
The meetings, at the Wyoming State Fair Park Reno Building, begins at 8:30 a.m. today and 8 a.m. Thursday. Much of today's portion of the meeting will be spent at the Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center in Platte County.
Both highway funding proposals are an effort to generate the additional $250 million per year that Wyoming Department of Transportation officials say it needs to properly maintain the state highway system.
State lawmakers several years ago capped the amount of severance tax money available to WYDOT at 4.3 percent of the first $155 million collected.
Supporters of the measure say eliminating the cap would provide a natural cushion against inflation, and it would provide a fairly reliable funding source. But they cautioned that removing the severance caps won't solve the highway maintenance funding shortfall.
"Eliminating the caps would only be part of the puzzle," said committee Chairman Sen. Michael Von Flatern, R-Gillette.
The committee will discuss a separate measure Thursday that would use a portion of the increased severance tax dollars to pay for multilane highways, which have been proposed as a way to ease traffic congestion.
The Legislature created an account for multilane highways a year ago, but provided no funding.
Also Thursday, a representative from the consulting firm PB Americas will be on hand to update committee members on the feasibility of collecting tolls from truckers on I-80.
Von Flatern said the report will be preliminary, and will likely include an overview of possible tolling scenarios.
Money generated by tolls could help pay for billions of dollars in I-80 maintenance costs expected over the next 20 years, officials have said.
The committee will hear another report on how Wyoming's fees for overweight and oversize trucks compare with other states. A fee increase could be another source of revenue for WYDOT, officials have said.
The committee will also hear a report about commuter patterns between Laramie and Cheyenne. If commuter numbers are high enough, it could eventually lead to a commercial commuter system between the two cities, said Von Flatern, adding that his preference would be a private commuter system.
"Our first intention would be to make sure the state statutes don't prevent anybody from doing that," he said.
The committee will also discuss state laws regarding taxes on rental vehicles, abandoned vehicle issues and proposed changes to vehicle title and registration laws.
The meeting is open to the public.
NEWS TRACKER
Last we knew: State transportation officials estimate that another $250 million a year is needed to properly maintain the highway system.
The latest: A legislative panel will consider ways to boost state highway maintenance funding when it meets in Douglas this week.
What's next: The legislature's Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee will meet again before the Legislature meets in January.