Alabama lawmakers will likely take up a long-delayed increase to the state’s gas tax when the 2019 legislative session opens in March, according to Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, who told a Foley business audience that infrastructure funding has become impossible to avoid.
Marsh, who represents District 12 in east Alabama and includes the cities of Anniston and Jacksonville, spoke at a Leadership Series Luncheon hosted by the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce at the Foley Civic Center on Nov. 28. He told the crowd that education and infrastructure are the two issues weighing most heavily on him as the new session approaches.
“I think you can see legislation dealing with — and I’ll say the dreaded word — a gas tax,” Marsh said, acknowledging the political risk of the subject before laying out why he believes the state can no longer put it off.
Marsh is seeking another term as pro tem when the Legislature reconvenes in January, and he used the Foley appearance to put fellow senators on notice. He said he wants colleagues who support his return to the leadership post to also be ready to act on tough votes.
“Think hard about it, because when January comes around and it’s time to vote pro tem and my name is on there,” Marsh said. “If you’re not willing to step up and do some of the bolder things the state needs in education and infrastructure, I’m not your guy. I want to see something done.”
Central to Marsh’s infrastructure push is the Port of Mobile, which he described as a major economic engine that could see even greater returns with a deeper shipping channel. He said state leaders are discussing directing a share of any new gas tax revenue to the Alabama Port Authority to help fund that work.
“If we can deepen that port then we can double the amount of commerce coming and going, and that’s important to the state of Alabama,” Marsh said. “We are talking about taking a percentage of any tax increase to go to the port authority. We believe there’s going to be federal money that can be matched to deepen the harbor to make these improvements we need to continue to make at the port.”
Marsh said conversations throughout the latter half of 2018 have repeatedly returned to infrastructure needs, including the port project, and that Gov. Kay Ivey has signaled she intends to make the port part of any infrastructure package that reaches her desk.
“I spoke with the governor three weeks ago, and any infrastructure bill the governor is going to be connected with will have an element for the port in it,” Marsh said.
Any push to raise Alabama’s gas tax faces a difficult history. Lawmakers last increased the tax to 18 cents per gallon in 1992, and it has not moved since, even as vehicles have become more fuel-efficient and traffic has continued to wear down roads and bridges across the state. Marsh argued that the flat, per-gallon structure of the tax is part of the problem.
“It’s not like sales tax, where you pay a certain percentage,” Marsh said. “It’s a flat number, and that number has stayed flat for 26 years. I want an index model, and what we’re looking at is the Consumer Price Index. The fuel tax would be increased based on the Consumer Price Index, but have floors and ceilings where it can’t go more than a certain amount per year.”
That indexing approach, Marsh said, would let the tax keep pace with inflation and construction costs automatically rather than requiring lawmakers to revisit the politically fraught issue every few years, while still capping how much drivers could see the rate climb annually.
On education, Marsh said he wants the state to move away from treating Pre-K, K-12 and higher education as separate systems with separate plans and instead build a single comprehensive strategy spanning all levels.
“We’re working on these things with the goal to bump up the expectation of education and reward educators throughout this state,” he said.
Marsh’s comments add to a growing chorus among state leaders that 2019 could be the year Alabama finally revisits road and bridge funding, a debate that has stalled in previous sessions despite warnings from local officials across Baldwin and Mobile counties about deteriorating infrastructure and mounting maintenance backlogs.