SC Senate Passes 12 Cent Gas Tax Increase

South Carolina senators passed their own version of a plan Tuesday to raise money to repair the state’s crumbling roads, setting up a crash with their counterparts in the S.C. House.

The collision came as the Senate Finance Committee voted 14-8 to replace a House road-repair plan with a Senate proposal. The Senate plan would raise more money for roads — roughly $800 million a year versus $427 million — but also increase the gas tax more — by 12 cents a gallon versus 10 cents.

Despite a veto threat from Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, the Senate panel approved:

▪ Increasing the state gas tax by 12 cents a gallon over three years

▪ Increasing fees for 10-year driver’s licenses to $50 from $25

▪ Levying a $60 fee on hybrid vehicles every two years and a $120 fee on electric vehicles

▪ Increasing the cap on the state’s sales tax on vehicles to $600 from $300

House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, said he was “extremely disappointed” the Senate committee did not debate the various parts of the House bill, instead substituting its own proposal.

Lucas called the House’s 87-20 passage of its own roads plan two weeks ago a “courageous vote,” adding senators focused only on “dollar signs,” not the other reforms in the House plan.

State Rep. Gary Simrill, the York Republican who sponsored the House bill, said the resounding House vote — enough to withstand a promised Haley veto — was because that proposal also included reforming the State Infrastructure Bank and S.C. Department of Transportation.

“The Senate bill … has nothing for reform. It has nothing for right-sizing DOT,” Simrill said. “It is just a funding (proposal).”

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