Funding Plan to Fix Roadways Unanimously Passes House Subcommittee
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)- A house bill that proposes increasing gas taxes by two cents over five years passed without a hitch during a Ways and Means subcommittee meeting.
The passing came a day after Governor Henry McMaster announced his request to President Trump for over $5 billion to fix our roads.
McMaster saying in a statement, “It is too much at this time to ask our people to bear this burden alone, heightening fears of increased gas taxes.”
House Majority Leader Gary Simrill says he applauds the governor’s request but says local legislation should carry out business as usual.
“That would be a great boom for us but again, waiting on that particular provision and not moving forward with what we need to do would not be good for our state,” said Simrill.
Simrill said the governor’s request should not slow the house bill’s progress. “I think [these] are two different things. If we can capture out of state revenue, federal revenue would be great for South Carolina but we can not be dependent on that. The timing on that could be elusive in what we are trying to do,” said Simrill.
The bill will now move on to the full committee of the House before making its way to the House floor. Representative Simrill says he’s optimistic after Tuesday’s unanimous vote.
