Gas Tax Hike Being Floated As State Looks To Boost Transportation

As state lawmakers place a premium on improving the state's transportation infrastructure, some leaders are looking at bringing back the idea of increasing the state's gas tax.

House Speaker Robert DeLeo, speaking Tuesday at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast, said he has been approached by some on Beacon Hill about supporting a gas tax hike, revisiting an issue that voters repealed six years ago.

"It's never an easy issue to take up, but again, I think we're at a stage where if we're going to get serious about addressing this issue then everything and anything has to be on the table," DeLeo said, according to the State House News Service.

DeLeo said he still has to talk with the business community to get a sense of what it would support when it comes to transportation improvements.

The discussion comes after a wave of unsettling news for Bay State travelers: A recent report projects an $8.4 billion shortfall for state roads and bridges and MBTA infrastructure over the next decade; another report said Boston has the worst rush hour traffic in America; and the MBTA approved fare hikes.

The last time an increase on the gas tax was addressed was in 2013, when lawmakers added three cents to the tax with increases rising with inflation. The bill pushed through a veto from then-Gov. Deval Patrick, but voters repealed it in a 2014 ballot question.

Voters didn't get to weigh in on the most recent attempt to fund significant transportation improvements after the state's highest court ruled the proposed millionaire's tax was ineligible for the 2018 ballot. The question, if passed, would have raised the income tax of some of the highest earners in the state by 4 percent, and used that money for transportation and education.