By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Sun
Arizona motorists could fund what amounts to a $120 million infusion into road construction and repairs.
On a 35-24 vote Tuesday, the House agreed to allow the Department of Transportation to levy a new fee on all vehicles sufficient to finance the $120 million annual cost of operating the Highway Patrol. Rep. Noel Campbell, R-Prescott, who crafted HB 2166, has estimated that would add anywhere from $17 to $19 a year to what motorists now pay.
The bottom line, Campbell told colleagues, is protecting the Highway User Revenue Fund.
That fund, fueled by gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees, is supposed to be earmarked for roads. But Campbell said some of that money is being siphoned off to pay for the Highway Patrol, meaning less money for what he said is the reason for raising those funds in the first place. His bill would reverse that.
