Sisolak wants a ‘clean explanation’ for vote on extension of fuel tax increase

Maybe you thought gasoline prices would drop after 2026 when an extension of a fuel tax increase measure was set to expire.

But that’s not so, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak said Tuesday.

Those tax hikes will linger for roughly another 30 years to pay for bonds to cover the cost of building new roads, freeways and other projects totaling $3 billion if a simple majority of county voters approve a measure in November that calls for continuing to raise the fuel tax over the next decade, he said.

The County Commission chairman said he supports a county measure calling for a 10-year extension of a fuel revenue index tax that took effect in 2013, but added that he wanted to have a “clean explanation” for voters to review.

“The representation that after 10 years these taxes will stop is not correct, and these taxes will continue for the life of the bond, which I believe is going to be 30 years,” Sisolak said. “It’s concerning to me that people don’t know exactly what they’re voting on.”

Sisolak raised the issue just before the commission unanimously agreed Tuesday to approve the county’s official explanation and likely financial impact of the measure. If approved, gasoline taxes could climb about 3.6 cents per gallon annually, the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada projected. That comes to 36.32 cents more per gallon by 2026, based on a 4.54 percent annual inflation rate connected to the producer price index, which measures road construction costs. The 10-year average cannot exceed 7.8 percent, agency officials said.

Before 2014, county drivers were already paying 52 cents per gallon to cover federal, state and county taxes. Another 10 cents has since been tacked on because of the fuel revenue index tax that was approved in 2013 by county commissioners to raise up to $800 million within three years for local road improvements.

“I don’t think anybody’s trying to portray this inappropriately,” said Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, who also sits on the transportation commission’s board of directors.

Agency officials have said that several projects might not be fully completed as planned if voters don’t approve the updated fuel tax measure, including a $20 million study on how Interstate 11 would connect from Boulder City through the Las Vegas Valley, or a new Sky Pointe interchange at U.S. Highway 95 and the 215 Beltway estimated at $155 million.

County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick said it was incumbent on her, and her colleagues, to explain the measure to voters before the Nov. 8 general election.

“If we don’t come up with some type of revenue source, there is going to be very little government money out there,” Kirkpatrick said, referring to funding for road construction projects.

The county commissioners selected three people to write arguments in favor of the fuel tax measure. They are Erin Breen, head of the Vulnerable Road Users Project at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; attorney and lobbyist Russell Rowe; and Nevada Contractors Association CEO Sean Stewart.

No one applied to write an argument opposing the measure, but the registrar of voters might select up to three people to do so.

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Find @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.