INDIANAPOLIS — A bill with bipartisan support would give Indianapolis about $8 million more a year to go towards fixing the city's roads. The money is coming from the gas tax Hoosiers pay.
Senate Bill 283 fixes a decade old funding formula that didn't count close to 200,000 Marion County residents as part of the population. Currently, their tax gas dollars are going towards other parts of the state despite them being Marion County residents.
The gas tax dollars are estimated to give the city an additional $8 million a year.
The bill stipulates that the city must match the extra funding and that those dollars have to be used to fix the roads. This equals out to about $16 million more a year.
Fixing deteriorated roads is something the author of the bill, State Sen. Aaron Freeman, says is one of his constituent's biggest priorities.
"You can't drive from point A to point B without people being very frustrated and angry,” Freeman said. “I mean, our roads are in deplorable condition. This is an all hands-on deck situation. We have to help the city help itself.”
If SB 283 is signed by the Governor, the city says they will build the extra funding into the 2024 budget. They will also make room for it in their 4 year plan with DPW. Both of those are submitted to the City County Council.
"This would be available every single year, so residents can expect to see residential road construction every single year out in our neighborhoods," Dan Parker, Deputy Mayor of Indianapolis, said.
Parker says in order to get the bill out of the committee, the city had to agree to use 65% of all gas tax money they receive to fix roads in Marion County. This means they cannot use that money for any other infrastructure upgrades.
Mayor Joe Hogsett sent out this statement in regards to lawmakers sending the bill to the Governors desk:
This afternoon SB 283 was sent to Governor Holcomb’s desk following passage in both the House and the Senate. This common-sense fix in the state road funding formula will provide millions of dollars in improved neighborhood infrastructure for Marion County residents. Thank you to the bipartisan group of legislators who led the effort, including Senator Freeman, Senator Qaddoura, Senator Walker, Representative Hamilton, Representative Johnson, Representative Behning, and their colleagues.
