Gas tax money not meeting road needs

…”The motor fuel tax has been a wonderful source of revenue since the ’50s,” said Lowell Clary, the DOT’s assistant secretary for finance and administration.

But slow growth in the fuel tax – not just in Florida but also nationally – means there will likely be less road-building money available in a fast-growing state where the population is expected to approach 45 million residents by mid-century. In the U.S., gas tax revenues grew by less than one-tenth of a percent this year through April, compared to an annual growth rate of about 4 percent just four years ago.

“Today, the revenues that are generated do not meet the demands,” Clary said.

Officials said revenues are less because higher gas prices are resulting in people buying less gas.

The Gainesville Sun