FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Republican House speaker has appointed a bipartisan committee to investigate the state’s road funding woes.
Jeff Hoover appointed six Republicans and three Democrats to the Working Group on Kentucky’s Transportation Infrastructure.
Hoover said Kentucky’s road fund has declined by nearly $78 million since 2014, with state economists projecting another $25 million drop this year. The road fund is made up mostly of a tax on gasoline and has suffered recently from lower fuel prices and more fuel-efficient cars.
Kentucky is scheduled to lose some federal toll credits in 2020 that will cost the state about $100 million per year. Hoover said he does not have a preconceived solution in mind but said the state should modernize its laws to account for things like electric cars that don’t use gasoline.