BODINE AND CHATZIDAKIS SAY THERE IS NO NEED FOR A LAME DUCK GAS TAX INCREASE
TTF PROGRAM NEEDS REFORM, NOT MORE TAX REVENUEFor Release:
November 15, 2005

Assemblyman Francis Bodine/856-234-8080
Assemblyman Larry Chatzidakis/856-234-8080

BODINE AND CHATZIDAKIS SAY THERE IS NO NEED FOR A LAME DUCK GAS TAX INCREASE
TTF PROGRAM NEEDS REFORM, NOT MORE TAX REVENUE

Assemblymen Francis Bodine and Larry Chatzidakis today said that the state need not consider any increase in the gas tax if the Legislature and the administration will work to reform the management of the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) program.

"The Transportation Trust Fund does not have a revenue problem, it has a management problem," said Bodine, R-Burlington. "Hiking the gas tax to provide more money for the system will not help if we do nothing to reform the way the program is currently administered."

Bodine and Chatzidakis were responding to a story in today's Times of Trenton that suggested many transportation lobbying groups are suggesting a variety of tax hike proposals to fund a TTF renewal.

Among the ideas to deal with the state's impending transportation crisis cited by the article are increased sales, gas and business taxes, more fees on rental cars and motor vehicle registrations, a property tax for vehicles, and higher tolls.

The current funding program for the authority was enacted for the four-year period from fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2004. This four-year program is expected to run out of money soon and some newspaper stories have indicated that Democrats intend to increase the gas tax after the November election.

"Hiking the gas tax will only postpone the inevitable for another four years," said Chatzidakis, R-Burlington. "Without reforming this system so that we maximize resources, minimize bureaucracy and eliminate waste, any additional tax revenue will soon be exhausted."

Chatzidakis is the sponsor of legislation prohibiting any tax increases during a lame duck session of the Legislature. He said he doesn’t believe the Legislature should pass any tax hike now after skirting the issue prior to the election.

Bodine said that rather than supporting a gas tax increase to merely help fund yet another expansion of the annual capital program, it is more beneficial to support fiscal restraint and reform of the present TTF structure.

Funding for the projects could be derived by using existing MVC revenues which are currently being transferred to the General Fund and through implementing a true dedication of all motor fuels tax revenues.

Currently only 9 cents of every 10.5 collected through the gas tax are dedicated to TTF. Full dedication would produce an additional $75 million. The 4 cent diesel fuel tax could also be dedicated to the TTF yielding an additional $200 million. In total Bodine and Chatzidakis have identified nearly $600 million in funding for TTF renewal.

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