By Mary Sell and Caroline Beck, Alabama Daily News
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama’s more than 400 cities and towns currently share about $22 million a year from the statewide gas tax. They’ll get an additional $26 million a year under a proposed 10-cent-a-gallon increase.
Alabama’s counties now receive a combined $176.5 million; if House Bill 2 becomes law, they’ll receive an additional $80 million.
“It’s enormous,” said Greg Cochran, deputy directory of the Alabama League of Municipalities, about the potential impact of the gas tax.
That local impact was used by proponents to sell Alabama House members on the tax hike that’s expected to general $320 million a year. Representatives passed the bill on an 84-20 vote Friday evening. It moves to the Senate where at least some Republicans say they want changes.
Local impact
About 66 percent of new revenue will go to the state. But a different distribution formula means municipalities get more of the new money than they do with the current 18-cent tax. Each town and city will get a base amount $14,109, then additional money based on population.
“Some communities don’t receive $14,000 now,” Cochran said. “(The tax increase) will give small communities some money to pool for local projects.”
Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery and Mobile would all get more than $1 million in new money.
Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham, voted yes for the bill after talking with some of his constituents over the past few days.
“I took a lot of time to reach out to my constituents and correct a lot of the misinformation that’s been floating out there about this bill, so I wanted to call them up and explain and clear some stuff up with them before I made a final decision,” Rafferty said.
The bill dedicates about $11.7 million a year in gas tax revenue to improvements and expansions at the Port of Mobile. The state money would be used to match even more federal dollars.
The infrastructure plan is Gov. Kay Ivey’s No. 1 priority and last week she called a special session of the Legislature in order to fast-track the bill and make it easier to pass.
House Bill 2 also place an annual fee of $200 on electric vehicles and $100 on “plug in” hybrid vehicles.
The increase would be phased in over three years and then in 2023, it could increase or decrease by one cent every two years based on construction costs.
Despite the benefits for local road and bridge coffers, Rep. David Wheeler, R-Vestavia Hills, voted against the measure because he did not like the possibility of future increases.
“There were several things that I was concerned with but the reason I voted no was because of the indexing,” Wheeler said.
Wheeler was one of several Jefferson and Shelby County Republicans voting against the bill. Reps. Jim Carns, April Weaver, Allen Farley, Matt Fridy, Arnold Mooney and Allen Treadaway each voted against the measure.
Some lawmakers and groups have advocated for a tax cut somewhere else to offset the gas tax increase.
“It is the poor and middle class that will bear the brunt of the gas tax increase,” said Phil Williams, director of policy at the institute. “Why don’t we offer them a modest reform to offset it and to show them that we care about them in the process?”
Late last month, the Alabama Republican Party passed a resolution opposing any gas tax increase.
Also in the bill are:
- An annual allocation of at least $10 million in grants that cities and counties can apply. It’s for projects that are beyond local governments’ abilities to address, an ALDOT spokesman said.
- A congestion relief program that will require ALDOT to develop a prioritization plan to allocate funds to increase capacity on crowded state, U.S. and interstate routes. Tony Harris, a spokesman for ALDOT, said I-565 in the Tennessee Valley is an example of a potential project.
- An economic development roads program requiring ALDOT to develop a prioritization plan to allocate funds for economic development road projects “with priority give to projects in economically underserved areas.”
“We believe there are about a dozen counties that do not have a four-lane route to an interstate highway,” Harris said. “So we want to address that.”
- An annual allocation between $30 million and $50 million for “projects of local interest on the state maintained highway system, which may also include local roads and bridges essential to such projects.”
The bill also says the new revenue can’t be spent on salaries, equipment or property.
This year, ALDOT had total appropriations of about $1.5 billion. About $785 million comes from state revenue; $720 million comes from federal and local sources, according to the Legislative Fiscal Office.
The bill will be in a Senate committee Monday afternoon.
How they voted
Rep. Louise Alexander, D-Bessemer: Yes
Rep. Jim Carns, R-Birmingham: No
Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham: Yes
Rep. Dickie Drake, R-Leeds: Yes
Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham: Yes
Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham: Yes
Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Birmingham: No
Rep. Mary Moore, D- Birmingham: No
Rep. Neil Rafferty, D-Birmingham: Yes
Rep. John Rogers, D-Birmingham: No
Rep. April Weaver, R- Alabaster: No
Rep. David Wheeler, R- Vestavia Hills: No
Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville: Yes
Rep. Jim Hill, R- Moody: Yes
Rep. Connie Rowe, R-Jasper: Yes
Rep. Tim Wadsworth, R-Arley: Yes
Dollars and cents
Under House Bill 2, the gas tax increase bill, municipalities would receive an additional $26 million, bringing their total to $48.7 million. Counties would receive an additional $80 million, bringing their total to $256.4 million
How much would local counties and the municipalities within them receive under the gas tax increase?
Shelby County: $2.41 million
Alabaster: $201,570
Calera: $92,768
Chelsea: $83,041
Columbiana: $42,520
Harpersville: $25,190
Helena: $127,786
Indian Springs Village: $30,105
Montevallo: $56,911
Pelham: $158,647
Vincent: $27,566
Westover: $22,740
Wilsonville: $26,476
Wilton: $18,759
Jefferson County: $6.53 million
Adamsville: $44,720
Argo: $41,667
Bessemer: $199,967
Birmingham: $1,450,804
Brighton:$34,044
Brookside: $23,335
Cardiff: $14,481
Center Point: $128,652
Clay: $79,825
County Line: $15,855
Fairfield: $89,363
Fultondale: $70,835
Gardendale: $108,155
Graysville: $28,764
Helena: $127,786
Homewood: $184,471
Hoover: $566,612
Hueytown: $123,128
Irondale: $97,703
Kimberly: $32,460
Leeds: $93,804
Lipscomb: $29,069
Maytown: $15,720
Midfield: $50,426
Morris: $26,693
Mountain Brook: $152,290
Mulga: $19,786
North Johns: $15,090
Pinson: $62,597
Pleasant Grove: $82,546
Sumiton: $31,167
Sylvan Springs: $24,547
Tarrant: $57,412
Trafford: $18,482
Trussville: $149,041
Vestavia Hills: $244,488
Warrior: $35,608
West Jefferson: $16,397
St. Clair County: $1.32 million
Argo: $41,667
Ashville: $29,082
Margaret: $44,083
Moody: $93,486
Odenville: $38,337
Pell City: $100,045
Ragland: $25,204
Riverside: $29,055
Springville: $41,728
Steele: $21,169
Walker County: $1.13 million
Carbon Hill: $27,790
Cordova: $28,290
Dora: $27,817
Eldridge: $14,989
Kansas: $15,639
Jasper: $111,262
Nauvoo: $15,605
Oakman: $19,450
Parrish: $20,756
Sipsey: $17,607
Sumiton: $31,167
Source: Alabama Department of Transportation, Association of County Commissions of Alabama