Kansas Truckers Fight Tax Hikes

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A transportation funding plan passed by the Kansas Senate would jack up vehicle registration fees by 20% and increase fuel taxes by 5 cents a gallon.

Kansas truckers have said updating the state’s 10-year-old transportation program is a good idea but have opposed such high costs for diesel and gasoline in the proposal.

"In total truck taxes and fees, we’re 13th in the nation right now," said Michael Kelley, executive director of the Kansas Motor Carriers Association. "The Senate proposal would put us up to the sixth position, and that’s not a spot we want to be in."

He said taking money out of the industry’s wallet would have a ripple effect beyond trucking.

"For the first time ever, last year, the bulk of the Kansas grain harvest was hauled by truck," Kelley said. "So with the agricultural industry being heavily dependent upon trucking and also feeling the pinch of some really hard times, we think the Senate bill is not a wise move."

The measure would also require the state to issue $990 million in bonds.

An alternative plan proposed by Gov. Bill Graves relied solely on bonds to fund the state’s transportation needs in the next century.

A third plan, approved by the House, included neither new taxes nor the authority to issue bonds. Instead, it would forgo any tax cuts and divert funds to transportation from existing revenues like the state’s sales tax over the next eight years.

For the full story, see the April 12 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.