Governor Bill Haslam has traveled around Tennessee hosting and conducting 15 listening sessions about TDOT funding. The last one was in Lenoir City on Thursday September 10, 2015. The videos below are the entirety of the Lenoir City session. I have some thoughts on the gas tax below.
Below are the Governor’s closing remarks. Most interesting is the comments by the Governor about how this situation never gets resolved by sitting Governors.
Here is my thoughts.
1) The Governors family business is one of the largest collectors of the gas tax. This gives an appearance of the Governor wanting the family business to collect the tax that is turned over to the state quarterly. With the family business collecting the tax, holding it in company investment accounts. While the appearance may or may not be real, it is what it is.
2) Replace the $271 million plus or minus a million or two that was taken out of transportation during the Bredesen years.
3) When the gas tax was raised during the McWherter years, it was not raised or adjusted on diesel fuel (it is perceived because McWherter owned a Budweiser beer distributor that used diesel fuel). So, raise diesel fuel tax first.
If after answer the family business question, doing the other two actionable items. If you need additional revenue, make it a statewide citizen referendum. If the citizens approve it, then you have it.
