State sales tax increase will go to voters

State Rep. Matt Lori last week voted on a bipartisan plan to fund road and bridge repair and maintenance by asking voters to approve a one-cent increase to the state sales tax.
Lori said he is happy the House and Senate reached a consensus on a long-term, sustainable plan to maintain and repair the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges.
If approved in May, the increase would provide $1.3 billion in additional dollars to roads, $260 million in low-income tax relief, $300 million in additional funding for schools and $94 million increase for local governments.
The measures would also eliminate the existing 19-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline and the 15-cents-per-gallon tax on diesel fuel. It would convert both to a 14.9 percent tax on the average price of gasoline and the average price of diesel fuel.