Extends allocation of motor fuel tax to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Fund through 2025. Changes the allocation to 30% total proceeds, including 30% from the one cent per gallon environmental protection fee through 2026 and thereafter.
Summary
H5467 amends Rhode Island’s motor fuel tax distribution statute to extend the current allocation of gas tax revenues to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Fund through fiscal year 2025. Beginning in fiscal year 2026 and thereafter, it changes the formula so that 30% of total motor fuel tax proceeds, including 30% of the one-cent-per-gallon environmental protection fee, will be deposited into the fund. The bill keeps in place the existing framework for how fuel tax revenues are split among transportation-related uses, including transit, the Elderly/Disabled Transportation Program, the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, debt service, and general revenue.
The measure also preserves the requirement that the tax administrator make deposits and transfers within 24 hours of receipt, and it continues the Department of Transportation’s authority to use fund revenues for transportation purposes subject to annual appropriation. The bill takes effect upon passage, so its changes would apply immediately once enacted.
Impact
This bill would directly amend § 31-36-20 of the Rhode Island General Laws, altering the statutory disposition of motor fuel tax receipts and the environmental protection fee. Its practical effect is to lock in a transportation-funding allocation formula beyond 2025 and to establish a 30% share of total proceeds for the Intermodal Surface Transportation Fund beginning in 2026. The bill affects state transportation financing, the general fund, transit-related transfers, the Elderly/Disabled Transportation Program, and the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority, while leaving the broader structure of fuel-tax revenue distribution intact.
Sentiment
No committee transcript or recorded vote information is provided, so there is no documented debate or formal vote history to gauge sentiment. Based on the bill’s caption and text, the measure appears to be a technical but fiscally significant transportation-funding extension rather than a controversial policy overhaul. The overall framing suggests support for maintaining dedicated transportation revenue streams.
Contention
The main policy issue is fiscal allocation: the bill shifts and extends how much motor fuel tax revenue is dedicated to the Intermodal Surface Transportation Fund versus other uses such as general revenue. Potential points of contention would likely involve transportation advocates favoring stable infrastructure funding, versus budget interests concerned about limiting revenue available for the general fund. The bill also preserves transfers to transit, bridge authority debt service, and the Elderly/Disabled Transportation Program, so any disagreement would likely center on the size and permanence of those earmarks rather than on creating new programs.