voted on May 7 voted for the override: Sens. Matt Hansen, Bob Krist, and Heath Mello. Sen. Al Davis, who initially had voted against the tax increase, switched his vote to a yes. Acklie had spoken to previous Gov. Dave
Heineman about the need for more highway revenues but dropped the idea when Heineman expressed his concern. He did not know Ricketts also would oppose the tax increase, and once he expressed that opposition, Ackle figured the proposal was doomed. He hopes
Ricketts will be glad the money is there to help cities, counties and the state take care of the state’s infrastructure. “I’m sure the governor will work with it,”
he said. “He’s a businessman. When he gets time to look into it with the new director of the department and sees all the needs, I hope he will be pleased.” Reiser said dividing the tax’s proceeds
between the state, city and county broadened the support into a coalition that included the
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Nebraska Association of County Officials, the League of Nebraska Municipalities, the Associated General Contractors, and other groups. County officials testified about the condition of their roads. Even the Platte Institute for Economic Research, a conservative think tank, supported the gas tax. On the other side, the anti-tax group Americans for Prosperity sent postcards and encouraged constituents to contact their legislators opposing the tax. Reiser, who served nine years on the
Highway Commission, said there was widespread acceptance that something needed to be done about the state’s highways; it was just a matter of inspiring officials to act. He said that current low fuel prices made an increase more palatable. Also, neighboring states also have passed gas tax increases, which took away the concern that consumers would cross the border in order to purchase fuel. Iowa raised its gas tax 10 cents this year, while South Dakota increased its tax six cents. Also helpful in passing the tax was
Congress’ inability to act regarding highways at the federal level. Te federal Highway Trust Fund is due to become insolvent in August. When the veto was overridden, Congress was still debating what to do about MAP-21, which authorizes highway funding and was due to expire at the end of May. On May 19, Congress extended MAP-21 through July but still had not come to an agreement on how to rescue the Highway Trust Fund at press time. “We recognize that the federal government
is not predictable going forward,” Smith said. “We see that year after year the federal government kicks the can down the road on extending the federal gas tax. Tere’s a question as to how that’s going to play out this year, so states are beginning to realize the federal government is simply not reliable and they have increasing infrastructure needs of their own, so that’s why you’re seeing states across the country look inward and say, ‘Well, we have to increase our gas tax.’ I think that’s the way it’s going.” It was an interesting session. Nebraska
legislators do not officially run as Democrats or Republicans, but 35 of the 49 identify with the GOP, and Nebraska clearly is a conservative state. Many had campaigned promising not to
10 NEBRASKA TRUCKER — ISSUE 3, 2015 —
www.nebtrucking.com
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