In her State of the State last week, Gov Janet Napolitano asked lawmakers to pursue putting a proposition on the November ballot for a transportation tax to pay for highway projects and possibly a commuter rail link between Tucson and Phoenix.
Exactly what form the tax would take is still being researched. One possibility would be a statewide sales tax increase. Another possibility would be to increase the gas tax but there are concerns that might be rejected by voters facing already high prices at the pump. It’s also possible, there could be a combination of smaller increases in both the sales and gas taxes.
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The Arizona Department of Transportation is working on a list of projects that would be funded from the tax. That list is due to be completed in March. Most of the talk, so far, is over freeways in the Phoenix area, especially Interstate 17. One Tucson area project likely to be included would be an I-10 truck bypass route.
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