Gov. Doug Ducey is opposed to any increase in the state gasoline tax
By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Star
Unable to get the votes to raise the gas tax, a Mesa senator is settling for allowing counties to raise their own money for road needs.
On a voice vote Monday, the Arizona Senate agreed to permit the state’s 13 rural counties, for the first time, to ask their voters to impose a one-cent sales tax on themselves for road construction and repair. The levy could last up to 20 years.
Senate Bill 1147 also would allow for an immediate popular vote in the two urban counties, Pima and Maricopa, to extend their own road sales taxes before they expire.
Sen. Bob Worsley, R-Mesa, said it is clear the state has hundreds of millions of dollars of unmet road construction and repair needs.
