Poll Shows 83 Percent of New Mexico Voters Back Road Repairs on October 30: Transportation Department Proposes Bonds Plus a Fuel Tax for the 2027 Legislature
New Mexico lawmakers revived a road funding proposal in Albuquerque on October 30, seeking to close the state's long-standing road funding gap. Franklin Garcia, a lobbyist for the Asphalt Pavement Association of New Mexico, presented a new poll to the legislature's Transportation Infrastructure Revenue Subcommittee.
The poll, conducted by Albuquerque-based Research and Polling Inc., found 83 percent of voters statewide believe road construction and maintenance should be a top priority for state leaders, and 42 percent rated New Mexico's road conditions as poor or very poor. On how to pay, opinion was split: 54 percent said they would support a legislative proposal to redirect how the state collects the sales tax on car sales toward roads.
The state currently imposes a 4 percent tax on car sales, minus trade-in value, with about 60 percent going to the general fund and the rest to road projects. Democratic Senator Roberto "Bobby" Gonzales proposed last month at a different interim committee hearing to greatly reduce the general fund share and funnel the revenue into road and transportation projects. Garcia also cited a January report by the Washington-based transportation research nonprofit TRIP identifying a $7.5 billion funding shortfall for New Mexico transportation projects. Whether the proposal passes next session depends on lawmakers agreeing on a funding method.
Source: GSM America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：新墨西哥州议会大厦（圣菲）。Ken Lund摄，CC BY-SA 2.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / New Mexico State Capitol in Santa Fe. Photo by Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
