PARAMUS- Senator Joseph Coniglio today said he has come up with a way to replenish the State’s Transportation Trust Fund without placing the financial burden on New Jersey residents.
“The New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund is almost broke, and it is time for us to come up with some financial solutions before the taxpayers are left to suffer,” said Senator Coniglio, D-Bergen. “The transportation system is the backbone of our State’s economy. We have to make finding a permanent funding source a priority because over 1.2 million new residents and 750,000 new jobs are estimated for the Garden State in the next 25 years. We need sufficient funding for the transportation infrastructure in order to guarantee our economic prosperity.”
Senator Coniglio’s bill, S-2865, would remove a tax exemption on the first sale of petroleum products exported out of New Jersey.
According to Senator Coniglio, currently there is a 4 cent per gallon tax on the first sale of petroleum products that are sold within New Jersey, and that cost is passed on directly to the residents. By charging the same tax to those who purchase our petroleum outside of New Jersey, we are able to raise funds without charging our own citizens, Senator Coniglio added.
“It is important to diversify revenue sources for the Transportation Trust Fund in order to distribute the burden fairly, and my bill is one way to raise funds without those in the State footing the entire bill,” said Senator Coniglio. “We must bring financial stability to the trust fund. My bill would commit the revenue directly into the trust fund, and I would like to see the measure become Constitutionally dedicated in the future.”
Senator Coniglio noted, that his bill is also environmentally significant because New Jersey’s residents experience the effects of petroleum pollution that travel from other surrounding states. There is a cost to cleaning up the contamination in the air, and the other States should be charged for its pollution, said Senator Coniglio.
Senator Coniglio’s proposal was included as a possible solution to replenishing the State’s transportation Trust Fund by the Regional Plan Association.