Nevada’s 2009 biannual Legislature adjourned this month without addressing a looming $7-billion transportation funding shortfall over the next decade. Highway construction spending may be slashed, despite a 103% increase in traffic between 1990 and 2005.
Legislators were reluctant to increase fuel taxes, and Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) threatened to veto an increase. Transportation officials recommended adjusting the vehicle registration depreciation schedule to redirect funds for highways, a move that would generate about $47 million per year. Instead, lawmakers used the idea to fill the state’s general fund.