Politics & Government
NH House Votes for 15-Cent Gas Tax Hike
The money would help pay for several deteriorating roads in Exeter.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to pass a 15-cent gas tax increase over the next four years.
The bulk of the debate followed party lines.
The revenue raised would help fund critical road and bridge improvements over the next decade, said Rep. David Campbell, D-Nashua, sponsor of the bill.
Find out what's happening in Exeterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Campbell said the state had “an infrastructure crisis” and had not increased gas tax since 1991. He said there were major projects – including the completion of the widening of I-93, that was short by $250 million, that needed to be funded.
“Without new revenue, that project will not be completed,” he said.
Find out what's happening in Exeterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Currently, Campbell said, the cost to repave a road in New Hampshire was about $50,000 per mile, with reconstruction costing about $1 million per mile. He added that there were 140 red listed bridges with at least one structural defect and 1,600 miles of state roads were rated in poor condition, needing major repairs.
“The longer we delay, the longer it will take to fix the problems,” he said.
Campbell pointed to the Sarah Long Bridge that runs from Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine, one that was recently closed. He said the shipyard could close, putting thousands of jobs in jeopardy, if the bridge wasn’t fixed since the government required nuclear waste to only be transported by rail. He added that even Republican governors like Meldrim Thomson and Judd Gregg raised the gas tax, and added that New Hampshire had one of the lowest taxes in the country.
However, state Rep. John Burt, R-Goffstown, challenged the assertion by Campbell that the shipyard would close if the Long Bridge wasn’t fixed, saying it was false. According to U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, Burt said, nuclear waste could be transported by road and boat. He went out and solicited comment from constituents about the tax increase and nearly everyone told him to vote against the proposal, he said.
State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, R-Manchester, also offered an impassioned plea to vote against this gas tax proposal saying it was neither modest nor reasonable. He compared other taxes that the state had including the business profits tax and said no legislator would vote for an 83 percent tax increase on any of them. The recent small beer tax, he noted, was rejected by legislators, and that was a fraction of the increase being proposed with the gas tax.
“It’s simply unthinkable,” he said. “It’s a classic overreach … on steroids … it’s beyond the realm of consideration.”
However, state Rep. Candace Bouchard, D-Concord, who also serves as a city councilor, said for many years there had been revenue shortfalls for road repairs and the state was floating repairs with bonds and one-time revenue sources. She said that while bonding had low interest rates and it was good to get the projects done, there was a backlog and needed to be addressed. Bouchard called the gas tax increase a "responsible" way of making the repairs and ensuring that the I-93 widening project was completed.
“Our roads and bridges are in need of critical repair and maintenance,” she said, adding that many cities and towns will get millions for local road repairs, including rural roads in towns that couldn’t afford to make repairs.
A floor amendment sponsored by former House Speaker William O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, and others, to spend all the current highway fund money on road repairs, failed by a vote of 120 to 251, mostly along party lines, with a bunch of Republicans joining Democrats in voting against the motion.
The proposal now goes on to the Ways & Means Committee for more work and finalization.
Politicians react to the vote
Gene Chandler, the House Republican Leader, calls it the wrong bill at the wrong time.
"Our working families can’t afford another tax increase of any kind," said Chandler, R-Bartlett. "Our economy is still fragile and taking hundreds of millions of dollars out of the pockets of New Hampshire consumers is not the solution to the problem. In addition, before we start imposing massive tax increases we need to make sure we are complying with all the laws and the Constitution to assure that all highway fund monies are actually going to fix our highways. ”
It's a short-lived victory for supporters of the bill, according to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Morse, R-Salem. In a statement, he said,
"Despite the House’s determination to increase the state’s gas tax, this bill will be dead on arrival when it reaches the Senate. HB 617 creates unnecessary pain at the pumps. It hurts the little guy who can least afford it and businesses that continue to struggle in an economy that is still stuck in neutral. It is far better for taxpayers that we pursue non-tax revenues to fund repairs for our roads and bridges.”
Rep. Pamela Tucker, R-Greenland, the co-chair of the House Republican Alliance, also panned the bill.
"Clearly, this is not the time to be raising taxes, let alone raising the gas tax from 41st in the nation to 11th," Tucker said in a statement. "Over the past four years, the middle class has been increasingly squeezed, with household incomes down $4,000.00, health insurance premiums up $2,400.00 and gas prices near all-time highs.”
City, town repair funds
The following chart shows what gas tax money would be available in block grants to Patch cities and towns, FY14-FY23, if the final bill is approved by both the House and Senate:
Hampton-North Hampton $1,051,122; $335,544 Londonderry $1,995,395 Merrimack $1,985,134 Milford $1,082,772 Nashua $5,364,972
Portsmouth $1,460,807 Salem $2,195,307 Windham $1,075,954
Roads in Patch cities and towns that are considered poor:
Town Street/road name Amherst Route 101, Route 101A, Route 122, Route 13 (0.7 total miles) Bedford Boynton Street, Donald Street, Route 101, New Boston Road, Route 3 (1.4 total miles) Concord Airport Road, Boyce Road, Currier Road, East Street, Route 106, Route 13, Route 132, Route 3A, Route 9, South Street, Route 202, Route 3, West Portsmouth Street (10.7 total miles) Exeter Route 108, Route 111, Route 111A, Route 27, Route 85, Route 88 (7.6 miles) Hampton-North Hampton Mill Road, Route 101, Route 101E, Route 151, Route 1A, Route 27, Route 1 (9.6 total miles); Londonderry Grenier Field Road, I-93, Route 102, Route 128, Route 28, Route 28A, Peabody Row, Smith Lane (3.1 total miles) Merrimack Bedford Road, Connector Road, Continental Boulevard, Industrial Drive, Route 101A, Route 3 (2.9 total miles) Milford Center Road, Emerson Road, Federal Hill Road, Mason Road, Route 101, Route 101A, Route 13, North River Road, Osgood Road, Union Street, Whiting Hill road (7.5 total miles) Nashua Bridge Street, Canal Street, Concord Street, DW Highway North, DW Highway South, East Dunstable Road, Main Street, Route 101A, Route 111, Route 111A, Route 130, Somerset Parkway, Spring Street, Route 3 (13.3 total miles) Portsmouth Bartlett Street, Greenland Road, Islington Street, Manor Road, Middle Road, Route 1A, Route 1B, Route 33, Ocean Road, Omne Mall Connector, Pleasant Street, Richards Avenue, South Street, Route 1, Route 18, Woodbury Avenue (7.9 total miles) Salem Brady Avenue, Bridge Street, Cross Street, Hampshire Street, I-93, Main Street, Route 28, Route 28, Route 97, North Policy Street, Old Rockingham Road, Pelham Road, Shadow Lake Road, South Policy Street (12.9 total miles) Windham Cobbetts Pond Road, Depot Street, I-93, Kendall Pond Road, Lowell Road, Route 111, Route 111A, Route 128, North Policy Street, Range Road (4.6 total miles)Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
