Arkansas House to Discuss Highway Proposal This Week

The Arkansas House of Representatives will discuss and vote on the governor’s highway bill this week. The bill has already been approved by the state Senate. Governor Asa Hutchinson spoke about the proposal to update Arkansas’ highways at last week’s Murfreesboro Chamber of Commerce Banquet. He says the plan would extend the half-cent sales tax on fuel and collect tax revenue from casinos.

“…Equivalent to a three hundred million dollar plan for additional funding for cities and counties with local highway needs…putting on the motorists a three cent increase in gasoline tax and a six cent increase of diesel tax.  The polls show that it is about the maximum that the people want to absorb, but they are willing to pay that.  For example, this year we have a fifty million dollar low income tax cut that will be put in place, we are cutting the grocery tax, and we are increasing the homestead tax exemption by $25.  The equivalency of a three cent gas tax is simply $2.50 every month, which we will makeup for in the other tax cuts we have.”

Additional registration fees would be collected from hybrid and electric cars.

Voters would approve the half-cent sales tax on fuel during the 2020 general election ballot.