CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The House of Delegates voted 59 ayes, 32 nayes on a roads bill that is a key piece of the Justice administration’s agenda.
The bill sets a higher floor on the fluctuating tax based on the wholesale price of gasoline, increases DMV fees and raises the luxury tax on vehicle purchases.
Gov. Jim Justice has been a major advocate for the roads funding bill, which is part of a package of bills that he would like to leverage by way of bonding.
The governor has repeatedly said he expects 480,000 jobs will be created by his overall highways plan.
The resulting, anticipated economic stimulus is anticipated by the Justice administration to produce an additional $100 million in state revenue for the coming fiscal year.
In that sense, this was a budget issue, too.
The state Senate already passed the bills in Justice’s highways package.
A Justice bill expanding the tolling powers of the Parkways Authority remains in the House Finance Committee.