State Democratic lawmakers today formally introduced a much-awaited transportation omnibus bill, after scaling back slightly the vehicle-registration-fee increases the bill would use to pay for road and bridge projects.
Under the new plan, annual registration fees would increase by $31 for an average driver in the first year, and then be stepped up the next year to the originally proposed number of $41. The bill also contains a new $2-per-day fee on rental cars, in addition to new fees on late registrations and oversize or overweight vehicles.
The money generated — about $214 million in the first year and $265 million every year after that — would be used to pay back certificates of participation the state would issue to get money upfront for transportation projects, including repairing the state’s 126 structurally deficient bridges. Democrats say the construction projects funded by the bill would create much-needed jobs in the state.
“I really think this bill will move our state forward,” said Sen. Dan Gibbs, one of the main sponsors of the bill known as FASTER around the Capitol and now officially Senate Bill 108. “One hundred twenty-six bridges, that’s substantial. And if we can do something that creates jobs and makes our state safer for our citizens and our visitors to Colorado, we need to do that.”
The bill also contains several other elements. It would put about $10 million annually into public-transportation projects, Gibbs said. It would allow communities the option to explore other road-project-financing mechanisms such as tolling or public-private partnerships. And it would encourage communities to start pilot projects examining whether the state should abandon its per-gallon gasoline tax and instead tax drivers based on how many miles they drive.
But Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, said the bill is likely to see significant changes during the legislative process, as Democrats and Republicans continue to negotiate on the details.
“Today,” he said, “we are starting a very important conversation.”
The bill has no Republican sponsors, and it is unclear where the middle ground between the parties might be. Republicans have said they are unwilling to consider new fee increases to pay for transportation projects unless Democrats also set aside money from current revenue streams, saying Colorado residents can’t afford now to pay higher fees. Republicans have proposed using the equity in state office buildings to secure loans.
But Democrats have been reluctant to use money from existing revenues — especially in a year of dramatic budget cuts — and said that putting state buildings in hock without creating a new revenue stream to pay back the money is fiscally irresponsible.
Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, assigned the bill to the Senate Transportation Committee, which Gibbs chairs. It will likely see its first hearing in the next couple of weeks.
