Posted by Jacob Resneck, CoastAlaska | Mar 16, 2021
A bill to hike Alaska’s gas tax to $0.16 for the first time since 1970 has advance a key committee but faces opposition. (KTOO photo)
House Bill 104 — supported by Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (D-Sitka) and Rep. Grier Hopkins (D-Fairbanks) — cleared the House Transportation Committee Tuesday (3-16-2021); it now heads to the finance committee.
“The bill fundamentally doubles what is a very small tax set in 1970,” co-sponsor Rep. Andy Josephson (D-Anchorage) said.
Sitka Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins is a co-sponsor of the bill. (KTOO photo/Skip Gray)
Most of the revenue would go toward highway maintenance. And it enjoys wide support from business and industry groups that say it would help reinvest in Alaska’s road infrastructure.