Corzine Targeting Gas Tax Increase?

New Jersey has the third lowest motor fuels tax rates in the entire country, which translates into the lowest price for a gallon of gasoline anywhere when combined with the local refining capacity. While the rest of the country is well over $3.00 for a gallon of gasoline, drivers in New Jersey will regularly find prices well under $3.00. Three gas stations near where I live in North Jersey are all at $2.76 for a gallon. That may all be coming to an end with politicians looking at increasing the gas tax to cover the state's depleated transportation trust fund.

The state is trying to figure out how to cover all the costs of maintaining its roads and mass transit:

New Jerseyans tend to pay the nation's cheapest gas prices thanks largely to low gas taxes, but Gov. Jon S. Corzine is warning that the tax may have to go up someday to help pay for mass transit and highway needs.

The state hasn't increased its 14.5-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax since 1988, giving it the nation's third lowest gasoline taxes.

Corzine emphasized he's not proposing any increase now.

But he said an increase will need to be considered as the state looks to meet mass transit and highway improvements amid mounting state debt.

"It's certainly something we have to take into consideration in regard to our transportation capital needs and financial needs for mass transit in particular, so we'll review that,'' Corzine said.

Corzine has been studying how the state can make more money off assets such as toll roads.

The Democratic governor recently said he probably won't propose leasing state toll roads like the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway to private firms as Indiana and Chicago have done and Pennsylvania is considering doing.

He said he will likely call for a new state agency. Sen. Raymond Lesniak said would estimate how much money in tolls would be collected along the Turnpike and Parkway for the next 30 to 50 years.

Ah, Corzine thinks the solution to the cash crunch for state roads is to create yet another state authority/agency? That's only going to result in yet more bureaucratic nonsense and waste.

The GSP and Turnpike Authorities were merged to eliminate duplication of services and improve efficiencies, and yet Corzine wants to create another state agency?

Increasing the gas tax may be necessary so long as all the revenue is dedicated to the transportation trust fund instead of going to the general fund, where politicians use such revenue as a slush fund to cover pet projects. The state's transportation trust fund has been underfunded by the state and has been in danger of going broke. One-shot fixes, including borrowing to cover the anticipated costs for the fund, are only increasing the overall tax burden to taxpayers as it will cost far more in debt repayments than if the state was properly funding the fund.