Terry Branstad told reporters today that he would consider raising the gas tax if he is elected governor in November.
The Iowa Independent covered the story. Here's an excerpt:
Republican gubernatorial candidate Terry Branstad said once the economic recession is over, he’d be open to considering a fuel tax increase in order to pay for transportation projects. That’s a move his Democratic opponent, Gov. Chet Culver, has staunchly opposed.
Branstad talked to reporters at a campaign stop in Atlantic Monday. The Sioux City Journal reports:
“But, it’s a user fee, as opposed to a general tax, and I believe in a pay-as-you-go system, not doing it with borrowed money,” [Branstad said]. “I don’t think it’s something that we ought to be looking at at this time, but I’m not saying that down the road that we wouldn’t look at something.”
Lawmakers pushed for a gas tax increase in early 2009. That debate produced a unique political situation: Many Democrats in the legislature joined with Republican state Auditor David Vaudt and Republican Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey to support the gas tax hike, but Democrat Culver and Republican legislative leadership vowed to block it. Culver eventually promised to veto tax increase legislation.