Plans to pay for transportation work in South Carolina are plentiful at the statehouse. State lawmakers are hopeful that they can work out a deal soon to address the additional $1.4 billion needed each year to cover the existing shortfall for road and bridge upkeep.

One option expected to be considered during the five-month session would increase the state’s 16-cent-per-gallon fuel tax rate by 10 cents.

Rep. B.R. Skelton, R-Pickens, sponsored a bill that would raise the tax rate all at once. However, residents would get a state income tax break for the first two years. Afterward, they would pay the same 26-cent tax rate as truckers and other non-residents.

H4563 would raise $335 million a year for roads, but the tax rebate would remove $211 million in new revenue the first two years, leaving the state with about $124 million more a year for roads. After the tax rebate sunsets, the state would get the entire $335 million a year.

Advocates say the switch would raise revenue overall.

However, the plan faces a steep uphill battle. Gov. Nikki Haley has said she would veto any fuel tax increase. Instead, Haley said she will offer a plan to lawmakers by the end of January to help the state address the funding problem.

A related option would lower the state’s existing fuel tax rate to as low as 8.65 cents per gallon. In exchange, the state’s 6 percent general sales tax would be added to fuel.

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