4/17/2017 Group Watch: Gas Tax is Dead
House Speaker Mac McCutcheon proclaimed the plan to raise the state tax on gasoline and diesel to pay for infrastructure improvements as “dead” on Thursday. The bill was pulled because it did not have the votes to clear a procedural hurdle. Bill Poole of Tuscaloosa, the bill’s sponsor, said it would have passed if the procedural hurdle had been cleared. The bill would have raised the tax on gas and diesel 4 cents a gallon on September 1, with another hike of 2 cents on September 1, 2019. Under the bill, the legislation would have had the option of raising the tax an additional 3 cents a gallon on September 1, 2024 through a joint House and Senate resolution. The bill is not likely to be considered again until at least after the 2018 election.
