There’s no doubt Colorado’s roads are badly in need of repair. The question is whether to raise taxes, as legislative leaders are asking this year, or in the alternative find the money to meet the transportation need within the state’s $27 billion annual budget.

Rather than try to reprioritize the existing budget, which is at an all-time record high, House Speaker Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, and Senate President Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City, have opted for raising taxes. They have introduced House Bill 1242, which would raise the state’s sales tax, currently 2.9 percent, to 3.52 percent, which is an increase of about three-fifths of 1 percent.

If HB1242 passes both the Colorado House and Senate, voters would be asked in November to approve the sales tax hike, thus raising state revenues by between $620 million and $670 million a year.

Read more at The Pueblo Chieftain.