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By GEORGE BOWLES
Democrat Special Writer
At week’s end, politicians and pundits alike around Mr. Jefferson's Capitol were still marvelling at the miraculous death and transfiguration of Gov. - John N. Dalton’s gas tax proposal.
On Monday, it seemed that a gas tax hike for this year had been interred in due and solemn form when the Finance Committee of the House of Delegates refused to report the measure out for floor action. Yet on Wednesday the gas tax proposal stalked the halls of the General Assembly again, resurrected by what appeared to be a masterstroke of legislative generalship which left old Capitol hands stunned. It also left the senior members of the Finance Committee who opposed the measure smarting.
A bit of background is in order.
In Gov. John N. Dalton's State of the Commonwealth message on the legislature’s opening day, the governor warned of serious revenue shortfalls facing the State Department of Highways and Transportation. The governor told the lawmakers that S240 million dollars in new revenue must be found to keep repair and construction programs for the state’s roadways from falling dangerously behind.
The governor proposed a four per cent sales tax be levied on the wholesale price of gasoline, an idea which received a quick thumbs down from the lawmakers. An alternative formula was quickly devised which would provide for a four-penny a gallon increase in the existing nine cent per gallon state gas tax.
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