DES MOINES – Just a day after the Iowa Legislature approved bills that would increase the tax on gas, Governor Terry Branstad signed the bill into law.
Senate File 257 was signed by Branstad with nothing more than a statement emailed to the press. The bill relates to transportation funding by limiting the term of indebtedness for certain county projects, modifying certain permit fees, modifying the rate of the excise taxes on motor fuel and certain special fuel, establishing a fuel distribution percentage formula for certain special fuel used in motor vehicles, requiring legislative review of the fuel distribution percentage formulas, extending the repeal date of the Access Iowa Highway Plan, and including effective date provisions.
The bill passed the Iowa Senate 28-21 and Iowa House on February 24, 2015, 53-46.
“I believe that the leadership deserves credit for working together on a bipartisan basis to pass a piece of legislation that I think will be very beneficial to meeting the needs of the counties and cities as well as the state transportation network,” Branstad said as he signed the bill. “I think nobody’s satisfied exactly, but that’s the nature of a significant issue like this.”
The state tax on gasoline and diesel will raise by 10 cents per gallon beginning on Sunday.
Branstad is a RIHNO.
Back in the 80’s they passed a law that let counties and cities use gas tax money (Road Use Tax) that is allocated back to local governments to be used for wages instead of road and bridge repair. Prior to that all wages came out of the General Fund which is funded by our property taxes.
Someone should check and see how much of Mason City’s Road Use Tax goes for wages instead of road repairs.
It’s all lousy government and bad leadership!
@Watchdog-Now that would explain it. I have asked over and over what happened to all the money they have received and have never gotten a answer. I do remember talking to a city worker one time and telling him our taxes paid his salary and he came back and said it was road use taxes that paid it. I told him it was the same thing all a tax. But, I did not put it together until now. No wonder they run out of money with their benefits going up along with wages every year.
Where is the 200 million from new truck registrations?
A bill that was pass 2009 for road repairs.
@odd-damn good question. I keep asking about a accounting but of course it is ignored. They do not want us to know where the money went. It was probably put into bike or jogging paths.
When branstad was governor before there was a huge surplus because of a gas tax. Then he decided not to run and a democrat was voted in and now we have a deficit so branstad had run run again and raise the gas tax again. I wonder whose fault this was.
@Maybe-Republicans can be just as crooked as Democrats. That is why I am an Independent.
I am not talking about crooked even though I know that you are right. What I am talking about is that during branstad’s first run as Governor there was a surplus and now there isn’t and he was just voted in so whoever was Governor between his terms spent it all.
@Maybe-Everyone knows (even though some may not admit it) that Culver was by far the worse governor we have ever had. Even for a liberal he was nothing but a union crook.
Think back to 2008. What happened to our economy in 2008? Remember? That is where almost every surplus went.
You may be right, in 08 I was living in arizona so I wasn’t paying attention to what was going on here.
55 million dollar waste overrun in building our new state prison – who cares? – and the buiLding project is still screwed up – where did all that money go? Remember the 1% surtax to balance the budget then another 1% surtax to balance the budget – and whose getting all the casino money -SURLY NOT THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
This bill goes into effect on sunday yet some stations have already raised their prices, does that mean the increase right now till sunday goes into their pockets?
@Maybe-Of course it goes into their pockets. They are always trying to gouge the public. Casey’s is the worst.
It was kum and go that I saw raised their prices already.
@Maybe-They are getting just as bad.
I would like an Audit of the Iowa DOT, the money is already there.
Also, if you would take the money spent on the Illegal aliens here in Iowa for schools and other programs, the money is more than there to fix the roads.
Keep bending over, we are becoming a nation of servants and no longer a free nation as intended by our founders. This is what is slowly destroying our country.
I guess this was coming no matter what. Just because the price of gas has fallen after years and years of gouging people the state thinks they can come along and raise taxes. I would have loved to have seen a accounting of where all the taxes they have already collected have gone.
Yep now they can raise back up to $3.00