House committee backs redirecting vehicle and tire fees to create recurring transportation fund revenue
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Summary
The House Transportation Committee unanimously approved House Bill 1683 to redirect existing sales fees on motor vehicles and tires into the state transportation fund, creating recurring revenue; sponsor said it involves no new taxes and committee sent the bill to finance (20–0).
NASHVILLE — The Tennessee House Transportation Committee on Feb. 10 voted to approve House Bill 1683, a funding measure intended to make recurring transfers into the state transportation fund by directing certain vehicle- and tire‑related sales fees.
Chairman Hawke, the bill sponsor in committee, said the measure would formalize and expand an existing practice of routing certain fees toward transportation. He cited the Transportation Modernization Act, which he said supplied $3,000,000,000 in state funds in prior cycles and noted that the current budget includes an additional $1,000,000,000. He described the bill as a transfer of existing funds — not a new tax — and said a portion of first‑year revenue was “roughly $800,000,000,” with more than $1,000,000,000 expected in the first full year of implementation.
“No new dollars. No new taxes,” Hawke told the committee when asked whether the bill created new revenue sources. Committee members praised the effort to produce steady funding but also noted the broader scale of infrastructure needs.
The clerk recorded 20 ayes and 0 nos; the chair announced the bill passed and will go to the finance committee for further consideration.
Committee members and the Tennessee Chamber’s later presentation both emphasized the scale of Tennessee’s infrastructure backlog and urged that any revenue plan be part of a long‑term funding strategy.
