12/1/06-A state highway task force trying to figure out how to pay for roadwork in Nevada has decided on what it wants to pursue during the regular session that begins in February. One idea is to increase the state’s fuel tax.
Created by Gov. Kenny Guinn, the citizens’ task force is looking for ways to make up an expected $3.8 billion shortfall in Nevada highway funding.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force agreed to a handful of recommendations. One suggestion is to increase diesel and gasoline taxes by 3 cents per gallon. The rates would change based on inflation, The Associated Press reported.
Other ideas include shifting sales taxes on vehicle sales and repairs from the state’s general fund to pay for roads. The switch would require legislators to find additional revenue elsewhere to make up for the shortfall in the general fund.
Doubling the cost of driver’s licenses and reducing a depreciation allowance that people now get when registering vehicles also were suggested; as was tapping into the state’s budget surplus to jump start roadwork throughout the state.
The proposals would bring in about $300 million initially and increase over time.
Transportation officials said the revenue enhancers could be used to pay off a bond issue that would cover a large part of various highway “super-projects,” The AP reported.
The recommendations from the panel will be reviewed Tuesday, Dec. 5, by the state Transportation Board. The Legislature and governor-elect Jim Gibbons, who opposes new taxes, would have the final say on the proposals.

10/30/06-The commission trying to figure out how to pay for roadwork in Nevada has made its first recommendations.
Created by Gov. Kenny Guinn, the citizens’ task force said two tax revisions would raise about half of the money that the Nevada Department of Transportation needs for transportation construction funding during the next decade, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
The Blue Ribbon Task Force agreed to a handful of recommendations. One suggestion is to use a portion of the state’s revenue surplus to jump start roadwork throughout the state.
Another idea is to dedicate 1 percent of the sales tax generated through vehicle sales and repairs each year for transportation. In addition, the group decided to pursue changing the depreciation schedule the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles uses to calculate vehicle registration fees.
One other idea is to support construction of toll roads and enter into agreements with private groups to build the roads.
The task force was unable to reach agreement on a proposal to increase the state’s diesel and gasoline tax by 2 cents per gallon and index the rates to inflation, the Review-Journal reported.
The task force is scheduled to meet again Nov. 29 to discuss further the proposed fuel tax changes. At that meeting, final recommendations will be made as to what to pursue during the regular session that begins in February 2007. The Legislature and governor would have the final say on the proposals.