Lawmakers are finding a compromise for funding road and bridge repair. Senate Bill 1 was introduced by Senator Mike Vehle and the Highway Needs and Financing task force. The measure originally proposed a 100 million dollar increase in funding for roads and bridges, however, the bill was heavily amended by a legislative committee.
After substantial changes in the Senate State Affairs committee Senate Bill 1 now mirrors Governor Dennis Daugaard’s measure which provides for over 50 million dollars in road funding. Senator Mike Vehle of Mitchell chaired a committee which studied South Dakota’s road needs last summer. Vehle had asked for 100 million dollars but the revised version cuts this spending in half. Despite this Vehle says the measure still needs to move forward so something can be done for the state’s roads and highways.
"I’m willing to compromise. I’m not gonna say its got to be the committee’s bill or nothing. I’m willing to compromise and I’m saying lets get this down to the floor then get it over to the house and as we always used to say ‘Let’s get ‘ur done,'" says Vehle.
Even though Senate Bill 1 comes closer to the Governor’s version there are differences. First of all the measure ends a 2 cent annual increase to the gas tax by 2023. The measure increases license fees to non-commercial Ag. trucks by 15% instead of 20% called for by the Governor.
Both the Governor’s version and Senate Bill 1 have been changed to give cities and municipalities more options to fix local roads. Both measures give local governments the ability to impose a wheel tax on 12 wheels instead of just 4. Both measures also increase vehicle registration fees by 10% with additional increases starting in 2016. In 2016 vehicle registration fees would increase by 1 to 3 dollars annually depending on the weight and type of the vehicle.
Members of the Senate State Affairs committee passed the revised version of Senate Bill 1 unanimously. It now moves to the Senate floor.