DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A bipartisan group of key lawmakers predicts the Legislature will approve a measure this year that will eventually increase Iowa's fuel tax.
"All of us have come together and agreed that we have a long-term systemic problem of funding for roads," said Sen. Tom Rielly, D-Oskaloosa. "What's driving this is the increase in construction costs."
Legislators appear to be gravitating toward a proposal that seeks about $50 million in savings from the Department of Transportation in the fiscal year beginning July 1, followed by a 4 cent increase in the fuel tax in each of the following two years. The hike would apply to both gasoline and diesel fuel.
"It's a bipartisan effort," said Rep. Dave Tjepkes, R-Gowrie. Tjepkes and Rielly head the Transportation Committees in the House and Senate and are in key positions to push the effort.
The gasoline tax is currently 21 cents per gallon for gasoline and 19 cents for ethanol-blended fuel. Each penny increase in the tax generates roughly $22 million.
Gov. Terry Branstad's spokesman Tim Albrecht confirmed the governor was willing to consider raising the gas tax in the future.
"In the initial year, this mirrors the governor's position that as long as the savings are actually realized, the governor would take another look at the user fee down the road," said Albrecht.
Iowa last raised its gas tax in 1989, and in the months leading up to this year's session Branstad said a gas tax hike was "off the table" and that squelched debate on the issue. After lawmakers convened this week, however, the governor suggested he would be open to an increase in future years and that's given the issue momentum.
"I think the governor has reopened the door on the issue," said Rielly. "I'm optimistic that we will accomplish this, particularly when you have the House and the Senate in a bipartisan way trying to work with this and now you have the governor saying, let's reopen the talks."
"We're optimistic because the governor, in our estimation, never totally slammed the door on this," said Tjepkes. "He's always kept an open mind on this."
Tjepkes said legislative bargainers are still hammering out details, and expect to get an update from state transportation officials next week about how they will come up with savings in highway spending.
"If any of those efficiencies require legislative action, we will cover that and we will work with the governor on that," said Tjepkes. "Then the bill would call for a 4 cent increase in 2013 and another 4 cents in 2014."
There's political momentum for the measure as well, because highway advocates tend to be politically active, and the measure would allow lawmakers to put the issue to rest this year, while motorists wouldn't begin paying the higher taxes until after this year's election.
There have been some suggestions that part of the additional road funding could come from increasing the registration fees on vehicles, but Tjepkes said there is resistance to that idea. That resistance comes largely because roughly 20 percent of the gasoline taxes collected in the state comes from drivers who don't live in Iowa, while all of the vehicle registration fees are paid by Iowans.
"The conversations that I'm having is that most people like putting it all on the gas tax because it's a user fee and 20 percent of it comes from users who are not Iowa residents," said Tjepkes. He said many details remain to be settled.
Rielly said the debate is being driven by a broad consensus that the state isn't doing enough to maintain a highway system that's an essential part of the state's fabric.
"The long-term system costs, the costs far exceed the revenues that are coming in," said Rielly. "I think we could have some movement on this issue."
Rielly argued that there are several factors adding steam to the issue.
"We're all trying to improve the safety of our roads, and put people back to work and also to get people from outside the state to start paying their share," said Rielly.
House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, said his initial focus would be on seeking efficiencies in highway spending.
"We are going to work through the current money that Iowans send us and make sure it's spent wisely and correctly and that our bridges and roads are safe," said Paulsen. After that, any discussion of a tax hike is uncharted territory, he said.
"I have not vote-counted on it," said Paulsen.
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