New Jersey to Hike Diesel Fuel Tax by 27 Cents
Gov. Christie speaking at announcement of fuel-tax deal with Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (left) and State Senate President Steve Sweeney (right) looking on. Photo: New Jersey Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen
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Gov. Christie speaking at announcement of fuel-tax deal with Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (left) and State Senate President Steve Sweeney (right) looking on. Photo: New Jersey Governor’s Office/Tim Larsen
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New Jersey lawmakers have approved a bipartisan deal that not only raises fuel taxes in the Garden State for the first time in three decades, it substantially hikes them— by 23 cents per gallon for gasoline and by 27 cents for diesel.
The New Jersey Senate and Assembly both passed the bill on Oct. 7 and Gov. Chris Christie (R) is expected to sign it within the month, resulting in the first fuel-tax increase for the state since 1988.
The compromise measure was crafted by Christie and the leaders of the Democratic-controlled legislature, Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) to replenish the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. The TTF was drained as of early this summer, leading the governor to halt all non-emergency roadwork on July 8.
The New Jersey Motor Truck Association said on Oct. 11 that the gasoline tax increase should go into effect on Nov. 1 while the diesel hike will be implemented in two stages starting next year: The first increase will come on January 1 and the second on July 1.
NJMTA said in a statement that its lobbying effort “was able to get a delayed implementation on diesel as many of our members operate with contracts. Unfortunately, the delay in passage reduced the deal from six months to two-and-a-half months’ notification.”
The exact amount for each stage has not been determined yet, NJMTA noted. “Per the bill, the first increase on January 1, 2017 would be 70%, or approximately 18.9 cents, and on July 1 [it would be] approximately 8.1 cents. The initial rate will be determined by a survey of the statewide price on July …Read the rest of this story
