Oskaloosa’s Tom Rielly Talks Taxes
Senator Tom Rielly, Chairman of Senate Transportation Committee, discusses a proposed .10 cent gas tax increase with others on the committee
Des Moines, Iowa – Iowa Senator Tom Rielly (D-Oskaloosa) is Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee. Rielly’s recent proposal to help Iowa’s roads and bridges not only has his colleagues buzzing but many residents all over the state talking about the proposed tax increase.
Rielly points towards what he says is lack of funding, stating that since 1989 the gas tax has remained the same. With it remaining the same, it doesn’t account for increases in inflation which translates to higher costs for things like concrete and steel used in the construction of roads and bridges.
The transportation meeting Tom was chairing got somewhat heated at one point between Rielly and Sen. Brad Zaun (R-District 32). “A little bit of a testiness in here towards the end. I think Brad [Zaun] is thinking we’re picking on [DOT Director] Paul [Trombino]; we weren’t. I was a little blindsided. I thought when the Governor asked for 50 million dollars worth of efficiencies, he was meaning this year and it sounds like it’s going to be more of a phase-in type of situation.”
“I want to chew on their concepts. I think Paul’s a very bright guy and I think he has some good ideas. I thought it was something different than what it was” stating, “I’ll take the miscommunication on my part”, Rielly said.
Rielly said he’s still wanting to work with the Governor and the House, along with his fellow senators, in a bi-partisan fashion. “I just want to fix up our roads.”
The proposed increase is between 8 and 10 cents per gallon for gas and diesel. Rielly points out that the 10 cent increase would cost the average Iowa driver about $65 a year.
In an earlier interview, Rielly stated the increase would be a “pretty good jump”. But he pointed to the constant fluctuation in gas prices, many times making an equivalent swing just from the markets and what people see at the pump.
Many times bills languish in committee, but Rielly was confident “I’m pretty sure I can get it out of committee”, stating that he’s trying to “team them up” with proposed bills in the House and the Senate.
Curious on Rielly’s thoughts concerning Governor Branstad, “He’s opened the door on this. I think Director Trombino has even admitted this is not sustainable. What’s driving this is the cost of concrete and steel, asphalt, oil, and diesel, payroll and taxes, insurance and all that stuff”, pointing towards 1989 as the last real time taxes have been increased to cover roads.
Rielly also points out that with increased construction there would be an increase in the amount of construction jobs that would be created by the extra road work. Approximately $230 million would be generated from the proposed tax. Rielly states that approximately 5,000 to 7,000 jobs would be created. “I don’t know what other mechanism could generate that kind of revenue.”
Rielly believes that up to 20% of the revenue would come from out-of-state drivers when they stop to fuel up.
All gas taxes are constitutionally allocated solely to road and bridges in Iowa.
I caught up with Senator Brad Zaun and asked him for his thoughts on the meeting. “What happened is the Director of the Department of Transportation rolled out his report on the 50 million dollars in savings the Governor asked him to do.” During the meeting members of the committee were asking questions. “I thought the treatment of the Director was not fair, and I’m not talking about Senator Rielly from Oskaloosa. It’s just some questions I thought were not fair. I basically said ‘listen, we’ve been talking about raising the gas tax which I’m against for many many years’. The Director provided all the information as he was asked to, in regards to the recommendations on our needs for infrastructure in the State of Iowa, as well as what he thought was some of the solutions. Obviously that committee, not the Director, the committee, recommended that we raise the gas tax.”
“I’ve co-sponsored a bill that says we should take 1 percent of all our revenues and put it into the road use fund. I agree that we have to have a good infrastructure in the State of Iowa. That said, I think we need to run our government a lot more efficiently rather than raising the gas tax.”
Zaun then recounted what he said in the meeting, “So basically what I said in the meeting, to the whole committee, is ‘Put up or Shut up’. I won’t support raising the gas tax, but if you want to raise it, put a bill up; do it.”
According to the website Federation of Tax Administrators, taxes on Iowa fuel are .21 cents per gallon, with ethanol blended gas being .19 cents per gallon. A .10 cent increase would put Iowa 8th among the highest in gas taxation, California leading the way with .412 cents per gallon.
