The gas tax increase approved by the state legislature and signed into law by Governor Terry Branstad last week went into effect Sunday. According to State Representative for House District 84, Dave Heaton, the increase is expected to generate $200 million to finance the upkeep of roads and bridges. Around half of that will go to cities and counties.
Heaton says the bill allows counties to use that money to reduce their bond indebtedness. In 2010, an $8 million bond issue was approved in Washington County to pay for the maintenance of secondary roads. Counties issuing bonds for road improvements is something Heaton describes as a wake-up call for the legislature to pass a fuel tax increase.
For our conversation with Heaton, click here.