Yes, it’s nice that Mississippi cities and counties will be getting extra state money from an internet sales tax to fix roads and bridges.
The money will make a big difference in rural communities, which have been especially affected by the aging infrastructure crisis and have had to deal with a host of other problems at the same time, from a prescription drug epidemic to declining populations.
It’s a positive sign that the Legislature, which has skewed too strongly toward conservative enclaves in Jackson and Memphis suburbs in recent years, is doing something to help blue-collar Mississippi.
But at the same time, don’t give leaders like Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves and House Speaker Philip Gunn too much credit. What they’re doing is not enough to address the problem fully, and their efforts are several years too late. Their delay made the problem worse.
The state’s business leaders saw this crisis coming a few years ago and begged the Legislature to do something about it. The Mississippi Economic Council, the state’s chamber of commerce, released a study in December 2015 showing that the state needed an additional $375 million per year to maintain the highways and bridges we have now, not even considering building for any potential future growth.
Their goal was to give the Legislature ammunition to pass a plan raising the gas tax during the 2016 session. It would have been an ideal time to do so, with gas prices down.
But the allegedly pro-business Republican leadership was too scared of the tea party and other rabid, anti-tax sentiment, regardless of the clear need, to do anything. It didn’t act in the 2016 regular session. Or 2017. Or 2018.
In the meantime, highways and bridges have continued to deteriorate and gas prices have gone up, making the sale to the public that much harder.
Because of that bull-headedness, particularly from Reeves, the governor had to call a special session. That costs the taxpayers more because they have to pay for legislators to come to Jackson beyond their normal schedules.
And the solution — a combination of internet sales tax and a lottery — is only expected to bring in about $200 million annually. That’s only a little more than half of what the state needed three years ago.
This plan means the state still won’t be able to catch up with its infrastructure needs. Eventually the 18.4 cents-per-gallon gas tax is going to need to be raised for the first time in three decades. It’s about the fairest tax there is because the people who drive on the roads are the ones who pay for them, including out-of-state residents passing through who otherwise don’t pay Mississippi taxes.
When the Legislature last raised the gas tax in 1987, not one member who voted for it lost in the next election. That means Mississippians understand the need for good roads and won’t stage a revolt over a necessary tax increase. The Legislature should show some courage and do just that during its 2019 regular session.
