Dems and GOP trade letters, barbs over gas tax increase options

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Democratic Donkey & Republican Elephant - Caricatures
DonkeyHotey / Foter / CC BY

Democratic legislators are asking Republicans to come up with specific budget cuts that would allow the state to avoid a proposed gas tax increase.

House and Senate  Republicans have proposed coming up with $200 million over several years by moving Delaware Department of Transportation salaries to the general fund from the Transportation Trust Fund as an alternative to Gov. Jack Markell’s proposal to add 10 cents to the gas tax.  The salaries were moved out of the trust fund two decades ago.

In a  letter, House Majority Leader Rep. Valerie Longhurst and Majority Whip John Viola asked House Minority Leader Rep. Danny Short, R-Seaford  and Minority Whip Debbie Hudson, R-Greenville,  to identify the specific cuts they would make to accommodate moving $262 million in seven annual $38 million installments back into the operating budget.

Republicans fired back with another lengthy  letter claiming Longhurst was a critic of the proposed gas tax increase.  Other than proposing cutting $7 million in new initiatives, GOP legislators did not come up with proposed cuts and instead took Democrats to task for deleting a GOP response on the Democrats Facebook page.

“As our letter states, House Republicans would welcome a conversation on this issue and are willing to be flexible in terms of a transition timeline and other factors,” Republicans wrote in response to a Facebook post asking for specifics.  “We have even started the ball rolling. In addition to the overall concept, we have recommended the first item that should be targeted that would yield $7.49 million (about 20% of the first year transfer cost). Some participation by House Democrats is needed for a collaborative, cooperative process to work.”

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Politically, the response makes sense, since specific cuts would leave Republicans open to criticism over specific cuts.

“For the past two months, House Republicans have talked about solving our transportation funding problems by just moving DelDOT operating costs back into the operating budget,” said Rep. Longhurst, D-Bear. “We think this is a good long-term goal, but it’s an incomplete option. If we move $38 million into the operating budget, we have two choices: cut $38 million or raise revenue. Otherwise it’s just a shell game of moving money around. That’s the part they gloss over by saying ‘just build it into the budget.’

“If this is a serious proposal, then they need to identify what specifically they want to cut. And that process needs to start now, well before our Joint Finance Committee starts putting together the budget. If they have good ideas, we’re open to listening and working together. But that requires Republicans to put their cards on the table.”

The letter asks Republicans to provide a list of recommended cuts by May 1 to allow time for  the Joint Finance Committee  to consider them before assembling the fiscal 2015 budget. A former member of the Joint Bond Bill Committee,  Viola, D-Bear,  said that it’s easy to talk about cutting in general terms, but when you open the budget and look at the numbers and specific programs, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

While demanding Republicans come up with specifics, Democrats have not warmly embraced the proposed gas tax increases in an election year.

Demands for Republicans to come up with proposed cuts  also come as the General Assembly wrestles with the problems of a gaming industry that is said to be only breaking even or running at a loss after tax increases a few years ago. A $20 million tax cut has been proposed.

Moreover, a recent Delaware Financial Advisory Council report showed a $40 million shortfall in revenue estimates. Both political parties are hoping the next budget estimates come in higher. Combine the DEFAC estimates, the loss of gaming taxes, along with the GOP transportation funding plan, and the General Assembly would need nearly  $100 million in budget cuts.

 

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