Tennessee lawmakers are wrangling with Gov. Bill Haslam over what to do with a half-billion dollar state surplus. Some want the governor to put it into roads.
House Speaker Beth Harwell kicked off the debate last week, when she raised the idea of using the state’s tax surplus for roads. The state Department of Finance and Administration says it has collected $501 million more than anticipated in the budget year that just wrapped up, and the Nashville Republican said in a press release the first priority should be clearing a backlog of road projects.
Other lawmakers have seized onto the proposal. They point to a decision by former Gov. Phil Bredesen to divert $300 million from the Highway Fund to other government services. The time has come, they say, to pay that IOU off.
State Sen. Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, agrees.
“Number one is repay the money that was diverted, if for no other reason than the symbolic importance of saying this was a dedicated fund,” he said. “It was wrong to take money out of it.”
Johnson says he’s undecided on what to do next, but many conservatives, including members of the tea party, hope these arguments can head off plans to increase Tennessee’s gas tax.
The tax is levied on each gallon of gas sold. And because people are driving more efficient vehicles, revenues can’t keep up with the cost of repairing and building roads.
Governor Haslam says the only way out of this bind is a gas tax hike of some sort — if not immediately, then eventually.
“A one-time spot of money doesn’t really solve our issue. We have a long-term, multiyear, multi-billion dollar problem.”
Haslam hopes this fall to convince Tennesseans — and lawmakers — he’s right.
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