its members more at the pump. He sensed that the Legislature was aware of the need for more highway revenues. After the board gave its stamp of approval, the NTA’s contract lobbyist, Dick Reiser, and NTA Executive Director Larry Johnson advocated for the tax with help from association members. While no carrier wants to increase its fuel taxes, supporters decided that improving Nebraska’s roads is too important – and the alternatives, including “public-private partnerships” such as toll roads, were far worse. Te bill’s sponsor, Sen. Jim Smith of
Papillion, said the NTA’s support was important. “We were fortunate to have a very broad
base of support on this bill, but the trucking association was able to bring the pro-business, pro-commerce perspective that infrastructure is really critical to moving our state and our nation’s commerce forward,” he said. “So they really brought that discussion to the floor of the Legislature. Tat was helpful.” Acklie said his carrier paid more than
$900,000 in fuel taxes to the state of Nebraska in 2014. Increasing the fuel tax will increase
his carrier’s taxes, but it also will mean more money will be paid by trucking companies operating in Nebraska but domiciled elsewhere, he said. Meanwhile out-of-state motorists who drive on Nebraska’s roads will pay more for their upkeep. “I served for 27 years on the Nebraska
State Highway Commission,” Acklie said. “Te Nebraska Department of Roads is a good steward of the funds they collect to repair crumbling bridges and roads in a large geographic area with a small population.” Smith, chair of the Transportation and
Telecommunications Committee, said his service on the committee has taught him about Nebraska’s road needs, but he’s also a Republican who much prefers cutting taxes to raising them. In fact, his main bill this session, which did not advance out of committee, would have reduced individual and corporate income taxes across the board. He began considering a fuel tax at the
beginning of the session after a conversation with Reiser about the idea. Mike Hybl, Smith’s legal counsel and a former NTA president, helped him work through some of the issues.
Smith said legislators had only three
options for increasing revenues: bond and borrow against the future, which had failed previously and was a nonstarter; use general funds to pay for highways, which Smith said is bad policy for several reasons, including because future legislators could reduce highway funding in favor of other needs; and increasing the gas tax. “We really explored this, and I came to the
conclusion there was really no other option than us to pursue this,” he said. At that point, it became a matter of
convincing Nebraska legislators to vote for a tax increase. Each senator is allowed to prioritize one bill, which gives it a better chance of advancing during a busy session when 600-700 bills are heard. Smith prioritized his own income tax bill and then asked Sen. Curt Friesen of Henderson to prioritize the fuel tax. Bringing Friesen on board added a rural voice to Smith’s urban one. It still wasn’t easy. Some the chamber’s 35
members who identify as Republicans were opposed because it was a tax. Some of the 14 Democrats were opposed because they said it
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