Title: Motor Fuels Taxes in a Changing Texas Transportation Scene
Headings: 
Motor Fuels Taxes in a Changing Texas Transportation Scene Should Texas Rethink the Way it Funds Roads?
Texas Motor Fuels Taxes
Rough Roads Ahead?
EXHIBIT 1: TEXAS TRANSPORTATION SECTOR — GASOLINE AND DISTILLATE FUEL USE, 1997-2016
EXHIBIT 2: TEXAS MOTOR FUELS TAX REVENUE, 1999-2018, IN CURRENT AND CONSTANT 2018 DOLLARS
Rising Road Costs
Other States Look for Money
EXHIBIT 3
STATES WITH VARIABLE-RATE GASOLINE TAXES
New Money for Texas Roads

Content: In fiscal 2013, according to the Tax Foundation, state-level gas taxes, tolls and license fees produced enough revenue to cover only 41.4 percent of state spending on roads. At the federal level, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the Highway Trust Fund may be insolvent as soon as 2021, while the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission projects a cumulative, nationwide highway investment funding shortfall of $2.3 trillion through 2035. Other States Look for Money
Many states have recognized that existing motor fuels taxes can’t fully support rising needs and costs. In its 2016 testimony before the Texas House, TTI noted that 26 states were funding road construction projects with revenue bonds; 24 states were using general obligation bonds; and 33 had employed public-private partnerships. In addition, many states have financed projects with tools such as tax increment financing or transportation reinvestment zones, both of which use property tax growth from a specific geographic zone to pay for improvements within it. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 31 states have raised their motor fuels tax rates since 2013, including four in 2019. But fuel tax hikes were rejected in Massachusetts in 2014 and Missouri in 2018, for instance. A 2019 University of Texas/ Texas Tribune poll found that 72 percent of Texas voters wouldn’t support a similar tax increase.