Transportation Committee Leaders Move Forward In 2018 Session

Transportation committee leaders in the Indiana General Assembly say their work isn’t done after last session’s landmark road funding bill.

The 2017 road funding bill included new registration fees and tax increases – including a hike in the tax on diesel fuel. Senate Transportation Committee Chair Michael Crider (R-Greenfield) says lawmakers in the 2018 session have to consider how that tax increase affects some Hoosiers.

“How those anticipate units that I didn’t really think about – like schools that buy diesel fuel, and fire departments,” Crider says.

House Transportation Committee Chair Ed Soliday (R-Valparaiso) says there are also new issues to tackle, including the coming wave of autonomous vehicles.

“We want to be certain we’re building roads for the 21^st century, not the 19th, so how that interface with autonomous vehicles would work,” Soliday says.

Gov. Eric Holcomb named autonomous vehicle legislation one of his priorities for 2018.