Idaho senator cites opposition to plan to increase truck fees

Idaho State Sen. Corder

The Associated Press

3/6/2008

BOISE, Idaho — Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter has withdrawn his plan to hike vehicle registration fees to raise an additional $202 million annually by 2011 for road and bridge maintenance, and a state senator said opposition to the fees would be difficult to combat.

Otter told reporters Wednesday at an Idaho Press Club luncheon that he felt state lawmakers were using his proposal, which would more than double registration fees for cars, as "political cover" to avoid making hard decisions.

The governor acknowledged that his plan was "pretty broadly criticized" after he introduced it in a joint meeting of House and Senate transportation committees last week. House members have since proposed cheaper alternatives.

"They're standing for election, and I'm not," he said.

Majority Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, said he expects some compromise proposals to raise additional revenue, including a registration fee increase for personal cars, changes in the way the state taxes fuel and additional registration revenue from large trucks.

"As the ideas come out, we're going to reach some sort of a compromise that will provide some new money for transportation in Idaho," he said.

Also on Wednesday, Sens. Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home, and Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, introduced legislation that would increase Idaho revenue from trucks, including those based in other states, by about $57 million. The largest trucks, over 60,000 pounds, would be required to pay a $660 annual registration fee plus 4.5 cents per mile on Idaho roads.

Corder said that bill would likely keep costs for Idaho-owned trucks largely stable while out-of-state trucking companies that have been taking advantage of the existing law would pay their fair share.

He said the biggest hurdle would be overcoming opposition from the Idaho Trucking Association, which represents long-haul truckers.

"How do we tell this segment — as loud as they are and as powerful as they are — that there's not enough of them to sway our decision," he said.

Skip Smyser, a lobbyist for the Idaho Trucking Association, didn't immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

The state Transportation Department estimates it will have an annual $200 million highway funding shortfall in coming years. If Idaho doesn't fix that gap, officials say the only alternative is to strategically withdraw from maintaining some roads so the state has enough cash left over for its most-important thoroughfares.

"I think there's pretty uniform agreement that we need that kind of money," Otter said. "We don't really agree on the means we arrive there."

The biggest part of Otter's package called for boosting registration fees for personal vehicles to a flat rate of $150 annually, from between $24 and $48 now based on a car's model year. With additional county charges, the annual fee for all car owners would rise to about $187.

He's also pushing a 4 percent tax on rental cars that would raise about $1.3 million annually and a plan to gradually boost fees on commercial truckers, raising $25 million in the 12 months starting July 1 and increasing the proceeds to $50 million by 2011.

In a letter to lawmakers Wednesday, Otter said he didn't submit his ideas lightly.

"Leadership sometimes requires making unpopular decisions," he wrote. "This is one of those times."

By contrast, House leaders are pushing measures to shift $22 million in sales tax revenue from tires, batteries and car accessories to highway funding as well as a separate measure to raise vehicle registration fees by $40. Several other options are in the works, House leaders said.

House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, said Otter's plan was just too big.

"I'm guessing he probably got the same calls we did," Denney told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I don't think any of them were positive."