Accessibility menu
State Representative Rod Hamilton
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5373
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
HAMILTON SAYS MOTOR VEHICLE SALES TAXES SHOULD HELP FUND ROADS
ST. PAUL – State Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) is co-authoring a bill this session that calls for a constitutional amendment, asking citizens if they want to dedicate 100 percent of the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax (MVST) for roads and transit.
“If approved, the bill would dedicate the taxes paid when you buy a car or truck to transportation projects in Minnesota,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said budget problems have forced lawmakers to use MSVT money for general fund purposes lately. For most of the 1990s, all of the revenue from the MSVT went into the general fund. The tax generated $614 million in fiscal year 2002.
Beginning in 2002, about 30 percent of the MVST was dedicated to the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund (HUTDF), a primary account for road money. However, that was done to replace lost funds when Gov. Jesse Ventura reduced car license tab fees. No new money was dedicated to roads. And in 2003, about 20 percent of MVST money was dedicated to metro and rural transit to replace funding that was lost when a property tax levy for transit was abolished. Again, no new money was targeted for transportation.
According to Hamilton, the MVST dedication proposal would add an additional $2.65 billion for transportation over 10 years, and the question would appear on ballots in 2006.
“Dedicating MVST funds to transportation would give road planners a solid source of revenue each year, allowing them to budget for and map out highway projects into the future,” Hamilton said.
News Items
- WITH ECONOMIC TURNAROUND, HAMILTON SAYS IT’S TIME TO PAY BACK SCHOOLS - (Posted: 2012-03-16 00:00:00)
- REP. HAMILTON: LEGISLATURE’S 2012 AGENDA BASED ON INFORMATION FROM STATEWIDE LISTENING SESSIONS - (Posted: 2012-01-30 00:00:00)
- REP. HAMILTON DISCUSSES MINNESOTA HOUSE FINANCE PROPOSALS - (Posted: 2011-04-15 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.