It would not be a November election if there were not transportation issues at stake.
There are eight major ballot items in eight states voters will consider on Tuesday.
In New Jersey, the decision will be whether or not to ensure all revenue from the state’s fuel taxes will go towards transportation upgrades. The constitutional amendment also would ensure any increases in the New Jersey gas tax and revenue from the petroleum products gross receipts tax also would go into the Transportation Trust Fund.
A similar measure is on the ballot in Illinois, one that would create a firewall and prevent lawmakers and the governor from using the state’s highway trust fund for other needs. Since FY 2003, a reported $6.8 billion in transportation-related tax revenue has been pulled for other purposes in Illinois.
The Alabama ballot will include a question to authorize a tolling authority in Baldwin County. Toll road authorities would be allowed to sell bonds to finance projects.
The nation’s first carbon-emission tax could be given life in the state of Washington if voters are willing. Initiative 732 would set the carbon emission tax at $15 per metric ton in July 2017. The tax would spike to $25 in 2018, and each year thereafter the tax would increase by 3.5% plus inflation until the tax reaches $100 per metric ton.
Bonds will be on the hot seat in Rhode Island and Maine. In Maine, voters will decide whether to approve $100 million in bonds. Supporters say the bonds are needed to secure about $137 million in federal matching funds.
Missouri will try to get voter approval on an amendment that would boost tax revenue on tobacco products, which in turn would be use to fund road and bridge work.
In California, Proposition 53, if approved, would require a public vote before the state could issue more than $2 billion in revenue bonds for a project.
