Jasper County committee reviews state "modernization" changes, notes bigger gas-tax share and new spending rules

The Jasper County Transportation Committee spent its meeting reviewing a 14-item state "modernization" package that the chair said will take effect next July and will change how some highway funds are handled. The chair told committee members the county’s share from gasoline collections has risen from about 2.66% to roughly 3.99 — described at the meeting as the equivalent of about four cents per gallon — and that the package increases the required share of allocated funds that must be spent on state roads from 25% to 33%.

The chair said the package contains a mix of items that will and will not apply to Jasper County and emphasized that the changes give the county time to respond because they do not take effect until next July. "Now they act they're collecting 40¢ gas tax. Before, we were receiving 2.66% from each gallon of gas. Now we're receiving 3.99," the chair said. He also said the county will need to review and, if necessary, update its transportation plan to list defined local projects and noted that plans must be refreshed at least once every four years under the new rules. "I think our plan is okay," he said.

Committee members raised procedural implications of the changes, including how higher state-road spending requirements will shift budgeting priorities. The chair reiterated that some items — such as bonding for state projects and certain ethics provisions — will not directly alter day-to-day committee operations but that staff should track details and follow up with the state as needed. The committee did not take formal action on the modernization package at the meeting.