skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Iowa Legislature Approves Gas Tax Hike for Roads, Bridges

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 25, 2015   

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Iowa Legislature has approved a 10-cent hike in the state's gas tax to fund roads and bridges, and residents and organizations speaking out after the bill's passage say the initial focus must be on repairing existing infrastructure.

Laura Belin, a 1000 Friends of Iowa board member, said the group didn't take a stance on the gas tax itself, but added that the funding priority for roads and bridges must be "Fix It First" instead of adding new roads or lanes.

"If the lion's share of new revenue goes toward building new roads or adding new lanes to existing roads," she said, "we'll be no closer to maintaining the decaying infrastructure that has been used to justify the gas tax increase."

The gas tax hike was approved Tuesday by the Iowa Senate and House and now awaits the signature of Gov. Terry Branstad, who says he'll announce his decision after a careful review of the legislation. If the bill is signed, the new tax would begin Sunday and raise about $200 million a year.

The latest research on Iowa's transportation troubles shows that about half of all of the state's rural roads, major urban roads and highways are in mediocre condition or worse. Belin said upgrading and maintaining that infrastructure as a top priority is key to the state's economic future "because the 'Fix It First' strategy is a way to reinvest in our communities, and it maximizes the value of our past investments, and it stretches the tax dollars we have."

The last time fuel taxes were raised in Iowa was in 1989.

The text of the bill, SF 257, is online at coolice.legis.iowa.gov. Road data is at tripnet.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021