NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s ambitious transportation plan is headed for a key vote in the House on Wednesday, though lawmakers are uncertain whether the bill, which includes Tennessee’s first gas tax hike since 1989, can gain enough votes to advance.
Republican House Majority Leader Glen Casada of Franklin said he hopes the House Transportation Subcommittee will either approve the governor’s 92-page plan, or amend it to include an alternate proposal made by Republican Rep. David Hawk of Greeneville.
Hawk’s plan would increase transportation funding by dedicating a small percentage of sales tax collections to road projects.
If neither amendment is approved, the plan could be killed for the year - along with Haslam’s roadmap for tackling the state’s more than $10 billion backlog of road and bridge projects. Casada said that as of Tuesday afternoon, neither proposal had the votes to advance.
“We’re praying as we speak,” said Casada. “Go sell popcorn, it’ll be fun!”
Advancing the Hawk plan would keep the governor’s bill alive, but Senate leaders have voiced strong opposition to moving away from the current system of drawing nearly all road funding from fuel taxes.
Even if the Hawk proposal is attached to the bill, it could be changed back in later stops along the legislative process - or in a conference committee between the House and Senate.
Haslam’s proposal would increase the state’s 21.4-cent tax on each gallon of gas by 7 cents and the 18.4-cent tax on diesel by 12 cents. The governor wants to balance the estimated $280 million that would be generated for transportation projects with cuts of the same amount in other areas, such as the sales tax on food, business taxes on large manufacturers and the tax on earnings from stocks and bonds.
Americans for Prosperity, the advocacy group founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, has campaigned heavily against the governor’s plan. But its state director, Andrew Ogles, canceled a scheduled appearance before the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday morning.
Ogles said in a phone interview that he was double booked with town halls in eastern Tennessee to oppose the gas tax, and that he has asked to be rescheduled to appear before the panel later.
“We’re pedal to the metal trying to represent taxpayers,” he said.
Senate Speaker Pro Tem Jim Tracy, a Shelbyville Republican who supports the governor’s proposal, said he was disappointed that Americans for Prosperity had begged off of the hearing.
“I had looked forward to them coming to the committee to ask them ideas about how we’re funding roads in Tennessee and what their suggestions were,” he said.
Earlier Tuesday, five mayors from counties surrounding Nashville visited lawmakers and held a news conference to support the governor’s plan. They singled out a provision that would allow cities and counties to hold voter referendums on whether to raise taxes to pay for transit projects.
Williamson County Mayor Rogers Anderson said the issue is of particular importance in counties like his that suffer from heavy traffic congestion.
“Let the people decide,” he said.
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