Austin, TX — This week both Senator Robert Nichols, Chair of Transportation in the Senate, and Representative Larry Phillips, Chair of Transportation in the House, filed bills to constitutionally dedicate the state's current motor vehicle sales tax to the transportation fund. Those bills include Senate Bill 287, House Bill 782, Senate Joint Resolution 20 and House Joint Resolution 68.

"It is time to fundamentally fix our long-term transportation funding problem," said Chairman Nichols. "Any long-term solution to transportation funding must meet five core principles. The funding source must be predictable over long periods of time, constitutionally dedicated, transportation related, independent of fuel source (electric, gasoline, or natural gas) and automatically adjustable for inflation. The motor vehicle sales tax does all of these."

As the state's population continues to grow, Texas will add millions of new automobiles to the roads. Our current funding system is inadequate and cannot address the state's growing infrastructure demands. These bills would incrementally dedicate the vehicle sales tax funds over a ten year period as well as allow payment of transportation related debt.

Representative Phillips commented, "I applaud Senator Nichols' leadership on this critical issue, and join him today in pursuing a long-term solution to our transportation needs."

"Transportation infrastructure is a core function of government and must be addressed," Nichols concluded. "What could make more sense than to dedicate the taxes that we currently pay for vehicles to the roads and bridges they are dependent upon?"

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