The Colorado Senate Transportation Committee listened to two hours of graphic testimony about our state’s crumbling roads and bridges Monday before approving on a 3-2 party-line vote a bill that amounts to little more than two steps back and one step forward.
Senate Bill 244, if approved by the full legislature, would raise about $180 million next year to patch and repair the most critical of Colorado’s rapidly decaying highways.
Unfortunately, not only is that sum not nearly enough to rebuild our battered bridges and highways, it’s less in supplemental funding than the Colorado Department of Transportation received this fiscal year.
Even though it is manifestly inadequate for the needs that were so compellingly demonstrated Monday, The Post supports SB 244.
It’s the only game left in town in a legislative session that has generally ignored transportation. We hope the business community will be heard forcefully on its behalf — while loudly demanding more adequate funding in future years.
Because of Colorado’s tanglefooted transportation funding process, even if Sen. Abel Tapia’s SB 244 is approved, Colorado roads and bridges can expect to receive about $48 million less in supplemental funding than the current budget.
This year’s CDOT budget included $166 million in supplemental highway funding under a 2002 law known as House Bill 1310 and $237.9 million under a 1997 law called Senate Bill 1. Sadly, those supplemental highway funds are used, in effect, as a reserve for other state programs — channeling extra cash to highways after other needs, such as schools, have been met.
This year, the state economy has been slowing down and no money is expected for highways under HB 1310. Meanwhile, the SB 1 funding dropped by $62.3 million to $175.6 million.
SB 244 isn’t quite as bad as it looks at first glance, because it would eventually rise to about $330 million a year after 10 years. That’s because it sets a minimum floor of $75 on what’s known as the specific ownership tax of new vehicles
Currently, vehicles 10 years old or older pay just $3 a year on that tax.
No existing taxes would be raised under that plan, so if you’re paying $3 on your 1997 Chevy, you’d still pay $3 every year until you hauled it to the junk yard. New and late- model cars, which now pay more than $75, would see their tax drop eventually to the $75 level — but not below it. After 10 years, that fee increase would raise $150 million a year for highway needs.
The bill also would raise an estimated $72 million a year for road and bridge repairs by levying a $6 a day fee on rental vehicles.
Finally, the bill seeks $108 million a year from a new $25 fee on most vehicles, with an additional $15 charged to trailers. Farm tractors and some other farm vehicles would be exempt.
Monday’s testimony underscored that if bridges and highways aren’t adequately maintained, they eventually have to be rebuilt at costs between six and 20 times as much as it would have cost to maintain them.
As the old oil filter commercial put it, it’s a question of “pay now or pay later.”
SB 244 deserves passage by the full legislature and Gov. Bill Ritter’s signature.
