S.C. Governor Says He'll Veto Gas-Tax Hike Immediately
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster said it won’t take long for him to veto a bill raising the gas tax when it hits his desk.
“Nothing’s changed,” McMaster said of his position, meeting with reporters on May 8 at the Governor’s Mansion. “We have plenty of money in the system to do all the work on the roads if we would just apply it to the roads that need the work. It’s not necessary to put yet another tax on the people of South Carolina.”
A panel of S.C. House and Senate members reached an agreement May 5 to raise the gas tax by 12 cents a gallon in increments of 2 cents a gallon each year for the next six years. Two-thirds of each chamber must approve the agreement to override McMaster’s veto.
Asked how much time it will take to veto the bill when it reaches his desk, the governor said, “Not long.”
McMaster’s claim that there is enough money currently in the state’s nearly $8 billion budget to come up with an added $1 billion a year for roads is widely disputed by most state lawmakers and transportation officials who say that’s how much money the state needs to fix the state’s roads and bridges.
