A proposal to institute a temporary halt to the 2019 Rebuild Alabama Act component of the state's current fuel tax has been proposed by a group of lawmakers in the House of Representatives.
However, that is something that State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R-Prattville) says he does not see as feasible.
Chambliss, one of the architects of the Rebuild Alabama Act, told Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show" on Tuesday that despite higher fuel prices, infrastructure was one of the state's needs that had to be addressed.
Therefore, he argued a so-called fuel tax holiday was off the table.
However, he said there were other areas where the tax burden had been decreased. He touted five different bills, which he said cut $160 million in taxes.
"That's a big thing," he said. "Five different bills that have gone through all of the different steps to put that money back in people's pockets, and we're proud of that."
The Autauga County Republican lawmaker laid out why he did not think the time was right for tinkering with the state gas tax.
"The matching is a major, major component of our program," he said. "Without that matching, we would be in a very, very difficult situation and fall further and further behind. But I think the thing we have to do and what we have done since 2010 is really be honest about our government and where we are. We've been honest when the times were tough, and we just really didn't have the money to do what we needed to do. And now that times are better, we have been honest about that and said, 'Here's $160 million of your tax money that we're sending back to you because things are really good in certain areas of our finances.'
"But if we're going to be honest with all of those, we're also going to have to be honest with the gas tax. There is tremendous need there. There is even more need than what the Rebuild Alabama Act will do. And to be dishonest and say, 'Hey, we should just give all of that back right now' -- that's not good government, in my opinion. And we need to just be honest about it. We are giving money back in tax cuts of $160 million in other areas of our government where we do have more resources than what we need at the moment. But infrastructure is just not one of them."
Chambliss urged listeners to consider the fuel tax as an investment in the future that will pay dividends for years to come.
To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com.
