12/1/06-With funding for roads in South Carolina expected to be a priority for state lawmakers when they return to the capitol next year, two legislators have offered plans to help pay for roadwork.
Rep. B.R. Skelton, R-Pickens, said multiple options are worth considering. One option would be to increase the state’s nearly 17-cent-per-gallon fuel tax another 5 cents. If that doesn’t work out he suggested allowing the excise tax to change based on inflation, The Greenville News reported.
Another suggestion is to switch the fuel tax to a sales tax, which is automatically indexed.
Sen. Danny Verdin, R-Laurens, said he would rather have lawmakers divert $200 million a year from the state’s general fund to the South Carolina Department of Transportation.
The likelihood of a tax increase is considered low because Gov. Mark Sanford opposes any tax increase from one source without a tax decrease from another source, The State newspaper reported.
A spokesman for the governor said Sanford agrees there are transportation needs in the state, but he won’t support sending the department more money unless it is put under his control. SCDOT now is run by a group of six commissioners appointed by the Legislature. The House and Senate would have to approve any changes to the arrangement.

10/6/06-Funding for roads in South Carolina is expected to be a priority for state lawmakers when they return to the capitol next year.
Until then, many state officials and lawmakers want the South Carolina Department of Transportation to make some changes before it gets more money.
Tee Hooper, chairman for SCDOT, said the agency needs more than its $1 billion annual budget, The Associated Press reported. He also said he thinks the department must show it can manage the money it already receives.
“(The DOT) definitely needs more money. But I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask until we can show that we can appropriately manage funds that we already get,” Hooper told The Greenville News.
Nearly all of the department’s money comes via the federal government or state fuel taxes, which are 16 cents per gallon for diesel and gas. The rate hasn’t increased since 1987.
State DOT officials said this summer that the agency was in a funding crisis. The department’s executive director, Elizabeth Mabry, asked lawmakers to increase annual funding by $1 billion during the next decade.
But Hooper’s claims that agency revenues were being mismanaged led to a state audit, The AP reported. The report from the Legislative Audit Council is due later this year.
A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford said any increase in DOT funding needs to wait until the report is released and reviewed.