Illinois Lawmakers to Consider Capital Construction Plan
The capital construction plan for road construction projects took yet another interesting turn this past May. Senator Martin Sandoval, Chairperson of the Senate Transportation Committee, introduced a new amendment that includes a Motor Fuel Tax and other fee increases.
In a surprise counter move Representative Mike Zalewski, Chairperson of the House Revenue Committee successfully adopted an amendment to House Bill 391 containing very similar language to what was introduced by Senator Sandoval.
The proponents of House Bill 391 and House Bill 3233 estimate the changes will generate $2.9 billion annually. The contents of the bills are:
- The Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) on gasoline and ethanol blends would be increased from $0.19 to $0.44 per gallon. MFT on diesel fuel would increase from $0.215 to $0.54 per gallon.
- Truck and trailer registration for all classes of trucks are increased $100 annually. This includes farm plates.
- First division vehicle registrations (cars & non-D plate pickup trucks) increase from $98 to $148.
- Titles, duplicate titles, and replacement titles to increase from $95 to $155 ($60 increase).
- Driver’s License fees increase from $30 to $60.
- Electronic Vehicle Registration fees go from $35 for two years to $1,000 annually.
- All MFT, registration, and license plate fees will be adjusted annually by the consumer price index (CPI) (not to exceed a 2.5% increase) every year beginning in 2021.
- The commercial distribution fee (CDF) on trucks would be repealed.
- County MFT taxes in DuPage, Kane, and McHenry will be allowed to increase from a maximum of four cents per gallon to eight cents a gallon; it also adds Lake and Will to this authorization. This will also be automatically indexed for CPI annually.
- Reauthorizes the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to impose a public transportation tax and/or a motor vehicle parking tax even when the RTA imposes a sales tax.
The passage of a capital improvement plan is being closely monitored by the Farm Bureau. The issue and the subsequent fee increases will be examined in the context of Farm Bureau’s policy.