TX Representative Rodriguez defends portion of gas taxes for education

What is a “diversion?”

Jon Boyd, Nov 01, 10.

“It depends on what you call a diversion, for one. First of all, some people would argue that the twenty-five percent that goes to public education is a diversion because public education is not transportation. Well, I challenge anybody, any legislator especially, where we’re going to replace that amount of money that goes to public education. And I think that Texans want that money to go to public education,” said State Representative Eddie Rodriguez on the Texas Department of Transportation’s (TxDOT) “Road Show” web cast on October 19. He said that $650 million of diversions is not enough money to solve all of our transportation problems, and a small amount of money compared to a $25 billion state budget shortfall. The diversions are not the root of transportation finance problems, he said, over-reliance on gas taxes is the real problem.

The gas tax, aka the state motor fuels tax, has been fixed at twenty cents per gallon since 1991. Section 7-a, Art. VIII, Texas Constitution specifies that twenty-five percent of motor fuels taxes will be deposited in the Available School Fund, a practice that’s as old as the Texas motor fuels tax itself.

Representative Rodriguez is Vice Chair of the House Select Committee for Transportation Funding and is a member of the House Public Safety Committee, and he was appearing in an interview with TxDOT’s Executive Director, Amadeo Saenz.

Rep. Rodriguez asked the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) for an analysis of transportation impacts to consumer costs and jobs. He talked about some early findings from the TTI “Cost of Doing Nothing Report,” which has not yet been released to the public.

He also believes the public does not perceive transportation as a top priority compared to education and public health, referring to a Texas Tribune story.

“Over-reliance on the gas tax” has left the state unable to fund maintenance and new projects. He talked about a local option tax, which would allow local areas to opt in to a local gas tax for funding local projects.

Rodriguez also mentioned that there is a state rail improvement fund, but the legislature has not yet approved the allocation of funds to this account.

(Photo credit: futureatlas)