9/28/05-The Joint Revenue Committee killed a bid to increase the state’s tax on gasoline and diesel fuel tax by 5 cents a gallon to 19 cents. The revenue would have gone for a multilane highway system.
Already high fuel costs and the effects of Hurricane Katrina on fuel production are more than taxpayers can bear, Rep. Tom Walsh, R-Casper, told The Casper Star-Tribune.
Rep. Dave Edwards, R-Douglas, told the panel he is in favor of a fuel tax increase and suggested they amend the proposal to include a 1- or 2-cent-per-gallon fuel tax increase.
Instead, lawmakers opted to ask for the $75 million it wants to be taken out of the General Fund’s budget reserve account. The funds would go for building and improving multi-lane highways and purchasing rights-of-way, Walsh said.

8/1/05-The Joint Revenue Committee is drafting a plan to impose a 5-cent-a-gallon increase in the state’s fuel tax. The revenue would go for a multilane highway system.
The lawmakers are working on a scheme to raise the fuel tax by a nickel per gallon to bring in $50 million annually to widen the state’s most dangerous two-lane roads into four lanes, where possible, The Associated Press reported.
Lawmakers also are considering tapping the state’s general fund for another $50 million for roads.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal is less than thrilled by the plan.
He said Wyoming residents are already unhappy with prices at the pump.
The governor had earlier said he could not endorse a hike in the state’s 14-cent-a-gallon fuel tax without more public support.
Freudenthal signed legislation early this year authorizing a one-time infusion of $7 million for engineering and constructing multilane highway projects. The money cannot be used for the interstate highway system.
The Wyoming Department of Transportation has now estimated the cost of widening highways in the state to be $1.4 billion, much higher than earlier estimates, The AP reported. The cost is no longer $1 million per mile but $3 million per mile.
At its next meeting, the Revenue Committee is expected to review other states’ fuels taxes and highway funding systems.