S.C. gas tax hike gets official green light

The South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate overrode Gov. Henry McMaster’s veto last Wednesday on a highway funding bill that will increase the state’s current 16.75-cent gas tax by 12 cents over the next six years.    The South Carolina legislature has overruled Gov. Henry McMaster’s veto on a highway funding bill that will increase the state’s current 16.75-cent gas tax by 12 cents over the next six years.
   McMaster vetoed the bill last Tuesday. However, on Wednesday morning, the South Carolina House of Representatives voted down McMaster’s veto by a vote of 95 to 18, and on Wednesday afternoon, the state Senate overrode McMaster’s veto by a vote of 32 to 12, the last step needed to officially pass the bill, according to a report from local newspaper The State.
   The first 2 cents of the 12-cent tax increase will take effect July 1.
   Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington, said McMaster was focused on next year’s GOP primary – generally a low-turnout vote dominated by anti-tax voters.
   In addition, S.C. House Speaker Jay Lucas said, “The governor failed to offer one single, viable solution to the state’s infrastructure crisis.”
   In response to the criticism, Brian Symmes, a spokesperson for the governor’s office, said, “For the governor, this is a simple policy disagreement. He doesn’t believe that raising taxes is the best way to address the government’s inefficiencies.”
   McMaster succeeded Gov. Nikki Haley, who resigned in January to join the Trump Administration as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations.
   As governor, McMaster asked President Trump in February for $5 billion to pay for road repairs, arguing that increasing the gas tax should be a “last resort.” He later urged lawmakers to borrow up to $1 billion to pay for road repairs, instead of repairing state buildings.
   Looking ahead, once the approved highway funding bill is fully phased in, it is expected to raise about $630 million a year for road repairs. In addition, it includes about $100 million in tax breaks.
   Just last month, lawmakers in California approved a similar 10-year $52.4 billion infrastructure bill that will be funded through a series of gas and diesel tax hikes. At least 14 other states are considering raising gas taxes in order to fund transportation infrastructure investments, and another 19 states and the District of Columbia have increased tax rates since 2013.