MONTPELIER, Vt. -
Final approval in the Vermont House Thursday for a gas tax hike.
The measure would add a percentage sales tax to the existing flat tax. At current rates, Vermonters would pay roughly 8 cents more per gallon at the pump.
The bill will now land in the Senate Transportation Committee.
"I suspect we'll go along, somewhere along the same lines, and maybe tweaking it here and there, but basically we know what the problem is; we've got to address it," said Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle County.
The state must raise additional revenue in order to make up for declining gas tax dollars, or lose out on federal grants. Mazza says his committee will ensure that money raised for transportation this year will not be redirected to another fund.
