November 8, 2023 |
Photo – WYDOT logo – Bigfoot99 file photo
State lawmakers are looking for ways to help the Wyoming Department of Transportation weather an annual revenue shortfall of around $400 million without passing the burden to commercial and residential drivers.
Easy solutions eluded lawmakers last week in Cheyenne.
The combination of heavy traffic on state highways and extreme weather conditions means constant upkeep for Wyoming’s interstate highways. WYDOT is responsible for administering and distributing gasoline, diesel and alternative fuel taxes in the state, with a significant portion of these funds allocated toward the maintenance and repair of state highways.
The State Highway Fund eats up most of the revenue collected by WYDOT from diesel and gasoline taxes. Analysts predict a total revenue of $82.6 million will be collected in gasoline tax for the current 2024 fiscal year, along with $87.3 million in diesel tax, according to WYDOT officials.
The total estimated revenue distributed from these taxes toward the State Highway Fund is just under $104.2 million.
Members of the Transportation Committee failed last week to advance two bills related to the amount of money collected by WYDOT.
Bill draft 270, the diesel highway user and registration fees bill, was designed to create a “net-zero” cost for Wyoming taxpayers by increasing the diesel fuel tax by four cents and decreasing state vehicle registration fees. The Wyoming Trucking Association opposed the bill.
A second bill draft proposed a $20 decrease in vehicle registration fees across the board, with a two-cent increase in the per-gallon fuel tax on gasoline, diesel and alternative fuels. The second bill died in committee also.
While WYDOT’s budget has remained flat in recent years, nationwide inflation has cut into services the agency can provide.
Despite the two pieces of failed legislation last week to help fund the gap, lawmakers promised to continue working the problem ahead of next year’s budget session.
