Road Tax Hike: Political Potholes and the High Road of Statesmanship

An interesting bit of bipartisanship took place this past week here in South Dakota. Five Republicans and six Democrats on the Legislature's interim highway committee proposed bringing significant increases in vehicle registration fees and the state gas tax up for debate in the 2010 session. This isn't some token Snowe job of one meaningless vote; after a summer of conversation (on top of a much longer history of the majority party putting off hard decisions under the guise of study and task forces), a genuine bipartisan majority of this committee decided South Dakota's transportation infrastructure is in such bad shape that we need to have a serious conversation about paying our way to pave our ways.

Consider the diverse voices backing this proposal:

• Republican committee chair Rep. Shantel Krebs (10-Renner) is vice chair of the state GOP. She's at the heart of the party that depends on South Dakota's "no-tax/low-tax" mantra to win keep power. Yet she is willing to be called a fool by members of her own party and support raising the road fees.
• Democratic Representative Gerald Lange (8-Madison) is a classic Catholic social activist, perhaps the noirest bête of South Dakota politics. He has consistently opposed regressive taxes like our tax on food as harmful to the poor and bad fiscal policy. Yet he is willing to compromise and support somewhat regressive road use taxes to prevent the collapse of our infrastructure.

In other grand expression of bipartisanship, all four Republicans and the lead Democrat running for governor in 2010 have come out against the increase. Where the bipartisan majority on the committee is motivated by the pressing need to shovel some asphalt, the group of gubernatorial candidates is motivated by the pressing need to keep shoveling a certain bovine substance.

Let me take issue most directly with the position taken by candidate who will probably get my vote next November, Senate Minority Leader Scott Heidepriem (13-Sioux Falls):

Democratic candidate for governor Scott Heidepriem says state government needs to improve efficiency, not raise taxes, to pay for future road and bridge projects.

Heidepriem says $183 million in federal stimulus money should be enough for the state to meet its highway needs for now.

"I don't believe that an increase in taxation on the backs of people of South Dakota at this difficult time in history is appropriate given we already have received this amount from the federal government," Heidepriem said [Perry Groten, "Governor Candidates React to Proposed Tax Hike," KELOLand.com, 2009.10.15].

The point about the federal money available is well taken. Some commentators continue to use "rely[ing] on the federal government" as an empty talking point, but Heidepriem's position could be the most realistic one expressed: South Dakota is all about federal pork. South Dakota voters, especially the Republicans, love keeping our taxes low and relying on Uncle Sam to build our roads.

But the highway committee already factored those stimulus dollars into their deliberations. $85 million has already been awarded in 14 contracts. $5.5 million has to go toward enhancement projects (like the Lake Herman Loop bike path?!? Hey! Over here!). The remaining $92.5M needs to be dealt out by next March. The stimulus thus doesn't cover whatever road projects are on tap for 2011... which is what road fee hikes passed in the 2010 Legislature would kick in to cover.

Heidepriem also runs the efficiency argument. Sure, we can find some extra executive indulgences like state planes and no-bid contracts. But just a thought: does South Dakota want total efficiency? Total efficiency would mean consolidating all drivers license stations to Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, and Rapid City. Total efficiency would mean no school districts with enrollment under 1000 (2000? 5000?). Total efficiency would mean shutting down courthouses and consolidating all services into seven mega-counties along the circuit court boundaries.

My principal and former boss Dennis Germann once told me there's a difference between doing things efficiently and doing things effectively. (I think he was talking about the fact that I never sat down for coffee with other teachers.) I would suggest there comes a point where the pursuit of efficiency becomes the quest for a perpetual motion machine.

Now I understand there are political arguments behind all this. Facing an uphill battle in a state that hasn't elected a Democratic governor since the 1970s, Heidepriem can't afford to give the eventual GOP nominee any easy attack line on taxes. And Heidepriem could be concerned that Rep. Krebs and the other Republicans who are willing to stick their necks out for responsible fiscal policy now, after a summer of pleasant conversations out of the media spotlight, will cut and run during the session and the 2010 campaign, hoping the voters will forget this bipartisan vote (forget this vote? not with this blog around). Draw Dems out into a compromise on a vital issue, then bail on them to score political points: the national GOP has played that strategy on health care; what's to stop the state GOP from playing the same games with our roads?

Maybe the words of Rep. Mike Vehle (20-Mitchell), who opened discussion at Wednesday's committee meeting thus:

Everyone in this committee.. has a feeling that we need to do something... We'd all like to do probably a lot more than we feel in a recession we can do. But we need to take a hard look and be ready to explain to our colleagues the need that our highways have.... [A]ny society that lets its infrastructure fail or start to fail is also going down a wrong road and putting our society in jeopardy [Senator Mike Vehle, 2009.10.14].

The proposed vehicle registration fee and gas tax hikes don't have to be about politics. The proposals can be and should be about solving a problem and protecting a vital state resource. Let us hope the statesmanlike bipartisanship demonstrated this week by Krebs, Lange, Vehle, Merchant, and seven others will prevail over political potholes.

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Bookmark this page for 2010 (or bookmark Pat's—we'll both keep track): here's a recap of who voted how on this particular measure on Wednesday:

Name	Vote	Chamber	Party
Ahlers, Dan	Aye	Senate	Democrat
Cronin, Justin	Nay	House	Republican
Elliott, Elaine	Aye	House	Democrat
Fryslie, Art	Aye	Senate	Republican
Juhnke, Kent	Nay	House	Republican
Knudson, Dave	Nay	Senate	Republican
Krebs, Shantel	Aye	House	Republican
Lange, Gerald	Aye	House	Democrat
Lucas, Larry	Aye	House	Democrat
McLaughlin, Ed	Aye	House	Republican
Merchant, Pam	Aye	Senate	Democrat
Putnam, J.E. "Jim"	Aye	House	Republican
Steele, Manny	Nay	House	Republican
Street, Steve	Aye	House	Democrat
Vanneman, Kim	Nay	House	Republican
Vehle, Mike	Aye	Senate	Republican
Verchio, Mike	Nay	House	Republican

Munsterman Campaign Manager Thumps Knudson for Supporting Tax Increases

Munsterman for Governor campaign manager Pat Powers uses his blog to take more digs at gubernatorial opponent Dave Knudson, this time criticizing Knudson's support for increasing gas taxes and vehicle registration fees to address South Dakota's budget shortfall.

Never mind that Knudson may be the only fiscal realist among a field of GOP fantasists who think $150 million shortfall will go away with wishful thinking coupled with continued quiet acceptance of federal money. What I find interesting is that of all the members of the Long-term Highway Needs and Department of Transportation Agency Review committee who Knudson predicts will vote today in favor of those increases, Powers leaps at the chance to single out his boss's political opponent for criticism.

But Powers assures us his site is his opinion only, not a campaign website.

To his credit, Powers follows up with a list of committee members (after I send him the link in a comment). He pre-emptively blames any vote for an increase on "Liberal Republicans on the panel" and those darn minority Democrats.

Still absent from his criticism: Dakota War College favorite Shantel Krebs, who is the chair of the committee Powers puts on the hotseat. Krebs was on the SDPB news breaks yesterday thumping the drum for tax increases. She said that South Dakota could jack up road taxes and still have the lowest taxes in the nation.

I assume Powers be cheering Krebs’s “former” status as well and calling for her to resign her vice chairship of the state GOP. After all, she must be one of those fake Liberal Republicans.

Politico Ignores Wasson and Democrat Dissatisfaction in Herseth Sandlin Piece

Politico.com finds the South Dakota House race heating up enough to warrant a little attention. Josh Kraushaar finds the potential of incumbent Stephanie Herseth Sandlin facing an actual race in 2010 reflecting a trend in other states where conservative Democrats are facing Republican challengers energized by the more vigorous national Democratic agenda.

Not warranting Kraushaar's attention:

• Thad Wasson, SHS's first declared challenger. Kraushaar doesn't mention the Piedmont telecom technician once. (Why do I always have to fall for the underdog? Why can't I keep my heart from going out to the low man on the totem pole in the other party?)
• Shantel Krebs, the other Sioux Falls state rep. occasionally touted as a possible challenger. My side bet: odds are Krebs defers to Nelson. She stays out unless the state party orders her in to dilute Curd's base in Sioux Falls and clear the way for Nelson to win in June.
  
• Local Dem dissatisfaction. Kraushaar notes that SHS's campaign war chest is a bit light right now ($157K? hey, that'll still buy a lot of ads on the Madville Times). Kraushaar does not note that what might keep them light is a lot of talk from South Dakota Democrats who are sick of triangulation and appeasement of a GOP that won't be appeased. After three terms of solid support, a number of South Dakota Democrats want SHS to act like a Democrat. The frustration I hear is particularly strong on health care reform, where lots of Dems in the trenches recognize the value of the public option.