LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Gov. Joe Lombardo on Thursday signed a bill to continue indexing fuel taxes to inflation, despite vetoing a nearly identical bill two years ago.
Lombardo approved Assembly Bill 530, which will allow the Clark County Commission to approve continued indexing with a two-thirds vote. The bill avoids asking voters to give their assent to the plan.
VIDEO: Steve Sebelius explains the recent signing of Assembly Bill 530, which continues fuel indexing
In 1996, voters approved the indexing plan, which allows gas taxes to rise in order to keep up with increasing costs of road maintenance. It's set to expire next year.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada testified that, without indexing, its road-maintenance budget would be cut by two-thirds and 179 pending projects would be left undone.
Two years ago, lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 359, which is almost identical to AB 530. Lombardo vetoed that bill, saying voters should have their say.
"Ensuring well-maintained roads for Clark County residents and visitors is an important goal," Lombardo wrote in his June 1, 2023, veto message. "However, the mechanism proposed in AB 359 — circumventing an affirmative vote of the people — is concerning to me. The arguments in favor of fuel tax indexing are compelling, but a decision on this issue, which impacts household budgets every day, is most appropriately rendered by the voters."
Lombardo added that hybrid and electric vehicles — disproportionately owned by more well-off drivers — left the burden of gas taxes on those with fewer resources. "AB 359 does not adequately address how to ensure that all drivers contribute fairly towards the shared resource of well-maintained streets," he wrote.
He ended the letter by saying that since the indexing plan doesn't expire until 2026, there was time to consider other solutions.
But on Thursday, that time ran out, and Lombardo signed AB 530.
"Fuel Revenue Indexing supports critical transportation infrastructure across Southern Nevada and Assembly Bill 530 enables the Clark County Commission to take timely action on this issue through a two-thirds vote," Lombardo said in a statement released by his office. "I would have strongly preferred that AB 530 go before Southern Nevada voters directly. To avoid similar situations in the future, my office is exploring a statutory amendment to require all sunset bills to automatically go back to the ballot before the sunset expires. Politicians should not be the sole arbiters of sunset extensions, and, if passed, this amendment would return the vote to the people."
In this case, however, political leaders will be the sole arbiters of whether fuel tax indexing continues. The county commission is widely expected to approve the extension.
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In addition to the Regional Transportation Commission, AB 530 was supported by the cities of Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite, North Las Vegas and Boulder City, as well as Clark County. It also had backing from organized labor.
This year's version of the bill also fails to address the disproportionate impact on people who drive gasoline-powered cars versus those who drive fully electric cars, who don't pay gasoline taxes.
Transportation officials may not have wanted the matter to go to the voters for a decision, especially with economic concerns and high gas prices. To be sure, the city of Henderson proposed a property tax increase to fund firefighters in the November general election, and it was defeated 61% to 39%.
