Full Text of SJR0077 98th General Assembly
SJ0077 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Since 2000, gas tax revenues have declined | 3 | | significantly as a result of less driving, increasing fuel | 4 | | efficiency and decreasing purchasing power; while motor fuel | 5 | | prices have increased dramatically over the last several years, | 6 | | the total amount of motor fuel consumed in Illinois has | 7 | | remained relatively stagnant over the same time frame; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Since reaching its current rate structure in 1996, | 9 | | revenue from the State's motor fuel tax has experienced | 10 | | relatively limited growth; in 2000, $1.384 billion in revenue | 11 | | was generated from the State's motor fuel tax; in Fiscal Year | 12 | | 2011, the total amount collected was $1.347 billion; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, As gas tax revenues dwindle, policymakers | 14 | | throughout the nation have had to divert billions from the | 15 | | general fund and other non-transportation funds to pay for | 16 | | infrastructure; this is increasing pressure on transportation | 17 | | policy makers to search for new, viable road financing | 18 | | mechanisms; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Mileage-based user fees are an alternative way to | 20 | | finance the construction and maintenance of roads; rather than | 21 | | the current gas tax method, which is based on the amount of | 22 | | fuel purchased at the pump, a vehicle miles traveled tax is |
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| 1 | | based on how many miles are driven; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, A mileage-based user fee system has been proposed | 3 | | in the United States and elsewhere in the world as an | 4 | | infrastructure funding mechanism to replace the gas tax; | 5 | | therefore, be it
| 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 7 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 8 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Task Force on | 9 | | Sustainable Transportation Funding, to be comprised of the | 10 | | following members, with an emphasis on bipartisan and statewide | 11 | | legislative representation and diverse non-legislative | 12 | | stakeholder representation:
| 13 | | (1) one member of the Illinois House of Representatives | 14 | | and 2 members of the public who represent the transportation | 15 | | industry, the Illinois transportation research community, or | 16 | | national research and policy-making bodies appointed by the | 17 | | Speaker of the House of Representatives; | 18 | | (2) one member of the Illinois Senate and 2 members of | 19 | | the public who represent the transportation industry, the | 20 | | Illinois transportation research community, or national | 21 | | research and policy-making bodies appointed by the President of | 22 | | the Senate; | 23 | | (3) one member of the Illinois House of Representatives | 24 | | and 2 members of the public who represent the transportation |
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| 1 | | industry, the Illinois transportation research community, or | 2 | | national research and policy-making bodies appointed by the | 3 | | Minority Leader of the House of Representatives; | 4 | | (4) one member of the Illinois Senate and 2 members of | 5 | | the public who represent the transportation industry, the | 6 | | Illinois transportation research community, or national | 7 | | research and policy-making bodies appointed by the Minority | 8 | | Leader of the Senate; | 9 | | (5) one member who is currently employed by the | 10 | | Illinois Department of Transportation appointed by the | 11 | | Secretary of the Illinois Department of Transportation; and | 12 | | (6) one member who is currently employed by the | 13 | | Illinois Department of Revenue appointed by the Director of the | 14 | | Illinois Department of Revenue; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall serve | 16 | | without compensation; and be it further | 17 | | RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall be | 18 | | considered members with voting rights; a quorum of the Task | 19 | | Force shall consist of a simple majority of the members of the | 20 | | Task Force; all actions and recommendations of the Task Force | 21 | | must be approved by a simple majority vote of the members; and | 22 | | be it further | 23 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall meet within 60 days of |
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| 1 | | the adoption of this resolution; the Task Force shall elect one | 2 | | member as chairperson at its initial meeting through a simple | 3 | | majority vote of the Task Force and shall thereafter meet at | 4 | | the call of the chairperson; and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Transportation | 6 | | shall provide administrative and other support to the Task | 7 | | Force; and be it further | 8 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall: | 9 | | (1) analyze the current trends between the | 10 | | infrastructure needs of Illinois and the revenue received from | 11 | | federal and State gas taxes and the level of highway and road | 12 | | investment that would reduce congestion, keep Illinois' | 13 | | economy competitive, and keep drivers safe; and | 14 | | (2) analyze a user-fee based alternative to the current | 15 | | system of taxing highway use through motor vehicle fuel taxes; | 16 | | the Task Force shall gather public comment on the user-fee | 17 | | based alternative approach and make recommendations to the | 18 | | Department of Transportation, including recommendations on the | 19 | | creation of pilot programs to be used to test alternative | 20 | | approaches; the Task Force may also make recommendations to the | 21 | | Department on criteria to be used to evaluate pilot programs; | 22 | | and be it further | 23 | | RESOLVED, That when the Task Force is studying user-fee |
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| 1 | | based alternatives to the current system of taxing highway use | 2 | | through motor vehicle fuel taxes and developing | 3 | | recommendations on the design of pilot programs to test | 4 | | alternative approaches, the Task Force shall, under | 5 | | consultation with highway users and transportation | 6 | | stakeholders, take into consideration: | 7 | | (1) the availability, adaptability, reliability and | 8 | | security of methods that might be used in recording and | 9 | | reporting highway use; | 10 | | (2) the protection of any personally identifiable | 11 | | information used in reporting highway use; | 12 | | (3) the ease and cost of recording and reporting | 13 | | highway use; | 14 | | (4) the ease and cost of administering the collection | 15 | | of taxes and fees as an alternative to the current system; and | 16 | | (5) any effective methods of maintaining compliance; | 17 | | and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall submit a report of its | 19 | | findings and recommendations to the General Assembly by January | 20 | | 1, 2015.
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