We’ve been pushing for a state transportation funding plan for years – really, most Coloradans have – and it appears that this year’s Colorado General Assembly is going to do something about it.

In its current form, the proposal, House Bill 1242, would generate about $677 million per year for transportation, for 20 years. Roughly $350 million of that would go toward payments on a $3.5 billion package. About $300 million would go toward the state highway fund. Seventy percent of the remainder the rest would go to counties and municipalities. Thirty percent of the remainder would go to a “multimodal transportation options fund.”

There’s plenty to question about this plan, especially how the money would be raised. HB-1242 would increase the state’s sales tax rate from 2.9 percent to 3.5 percent. That’s only a 0.6 percentage point increase in taxes, but it’s a 20.6 percent increase in what consumers pay. And while technically the tax is “temporary,” remember it would be in place for 20 years. So, for two decades, the sale of clothing, household goods, appliances and the like would help pay for road improvements.

Yes, those goods are delivered over the state’s roadways, so there is a clear connection to transportation. But at the same time, the state would reduce annual vehicle registration fees. Further, the state wouldn’t touch the gasoline tax, which was last increased 24 years ago, because, as the reasoning goes, electrical cars are replacing gas-fueled vehicles, and those cars that do burn gasoline are using less gas these days. Thus, the gas tax is considered a dying tax.

Read more at the Loveland reporter-Herald