Posted on

N.J. Democrats propose massive gas tax increase to replenish transportation fund

New Jersey Democrats Move to Raise Taxes

What happened to the STIMULUS Money ?

Time to audit the Transportation Trust Fund

FEBRUARY 3, 2016, 5:20 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2016, 6:12 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD

New Jersey’s Democratic legislative leaders said Wednesday they are close to working out a proposal to fix the state’s dwindling Transportation Trust Fund.

Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-Gloucester, and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, D-Secaucus, each said they just have a few details to work out on a proposal to replenish the fund – which pays for improvements to the state’s roads and bridges – runs out of money by June 30. Neither offered details of their plan.

But the two Democrats sparred with their Republican counterparts before an audience of several dozen mayors over the timing of such legislation.

Sweeney and Prieto said first they want to hash out a deal with Governor Christie – something they said has not yet happened – rather that pass a measure that he will veto.

“I don’t think anybody is going to go for something knowing the governor is not going to sign it,” Sweeney said during a panel discussion during the New Jersey League of Municipalities’ annual Mayors’ Legislative Day.

https://snip.ly/Xvs8#https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-democrats-say-proposal-to-replenish-transportation-fund-nearly-finished-1.1505096

11 thoughts on “N.J. Democrats propose massive gas tax increase to replenish transportation fund

  1. Stop taking the monies for other uses and we possibly would not have this problem.

  2. Why does that picture make me think, “And now on HBO, a new episode of The Sopranos”?

  3. Anyone have a better way to replinish the fund? “Stop taking money for other uses” does not give us the needed money.

    We have the cheapest gas around. NY drivers won’t come here for gas anymore.

  4. Gas prices drop and rather than see it as a benefit to give residents (especially the poor) some relief, the Democrats see it as an opportunity to raise gas prices back to their earlier level by “filling the gap” with a tax and continuing to punish NJ residents.

    This is one reason why the Democrat party is so reviled.

  5. Increase the gas tax! What a great idea, lets give more of our hard earned money to corrupt politicians

  6. Not a single question about the reason why the Transportation Trust Fund needs more funding, not one. When it costs the state over $2 million per mile of state road, 3 TIMES more than the next highest state, then something is wrong. And the NJ gas tax is only part of the story. Add in toll road, bridge & tunnel charges, and commuter pass costs and NJ residents already pay some of the highest transportation-related taxes in the country. There’s no support for this until state road work is opened up to non-union labor, and a full review of administrative & excess costs is complete

  7. 8:08, how about cutting the costs for every state mile of road from $2.1mn to $600,000 by letting non-union labor do a better job. You could also stop the change orders and other obvious graft charged by firms like Sanzari.

  8. 10:02 … if the party is so reviled why are they in power in NJ…. state senate: democrat, state house: democrat, us senators: democrat, house of reps: tied (6-6), partisan split: democrat, governor: republican… Can this be an indication of the pathetic state of GOP leadership in the state?

  9. They are still in power and remain in power because of highly organized voter turn-out groups. Most people don’t participate in local and State elections. You don’t need that many people to get you over the line, particularly if every union member and their extended family turns out.

  10. Once Sweeney gets a constitutional amendment put on the ballot to divert another $4 billion of new state & local tax revenues to the public worker’s pension plan, those highly organized voter turn-out groups will put the final nail in the coffin…

  11. Isn’t it more about the GOP not running viable or electable candidates? Plus with the governor’s unpopularity there are no coattails to ride. Sweeney should be vulnerable running for governor but if the gop response is someone like Lonegan it’s pretty much over before it starts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *