A plan to raise the state’s per-gallon gas tax by 1.9 cents per year over five years to fund the state highways, roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects has garnered the approval of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
“There is no better investment New Jersey can make than in our infrastructure,” said Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the N.J. Chamber of Commerce, at a hearing in front of the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee on March 7. “Our infrastructure is the foundation of our economy. Secondly, every citizen in our state, every day, accesses our transportation infrastructure. So our infrastructure needs to be safe, it needs to be efficient and we need to re-invest in it.”
Bracken mentioned another critical advantage: “A significant amount of gas tax revenue is generated by out-of-state drivers.”
Overall, Bracken said, the gas tax increase of 1.9 cents per gallon is a modest one. “It will total $16 per year for the typical New Jersey motorist.”
The plan, which needs legislative approval, would generate $2 billion or more a year to replenish the state’s Transportation Trust Fund, which helps pay for highway, road, and other infrastructure projects throughout New Jersey.
It should not be overlooked that an efficient and reliable transportation network makes New Jersey’s economy more competitive, Bracken added. “We have to do whatever we can to strengthen it.”
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce has joined the Building the Future Foundation to support the plan – joining forces with the Laborers' International Union of North America (LiUNA), the Utility and Transportation Contractors Association of New Jersey (UTCA), and the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey.
The plan also calls for assessing a fee ranging from $250 to $290 a year on electric vehicles over that period.
In New Jersey, the Transportation Trust Fund has enjoyed widespread bipartisan support for 40 years.
“The plan being proposed is balanced and it’s affordable,” Bracken said, “Its fair and it’s straightforward. We hope it is renewed quickly and on a bipartisan basis.”
