Virginia Lawmaker Proposes Per-Use 'Pump Toll'

RICHMOND, Va. -- Virginia Delegate Joe May (R-Loudoun County) proposed a bill to the 2012 Virginia General Assembly that would create a surcharge for all gasoline purchases in the state and result in the nation’s first "pump toll," according to a CBS 6 report. Under the terms of May's bill, drivers would pay 50 cents for each purchase, with an extra 50 cents charged for every sale over 35 gallons.

May said the surcharge would make sure that the general fund does not fund transportation projects. He also stated that Gov. Bob McDonnell's plan to add a 0.5-percent sales tax would only generate 10 percent of the revenue needed to repair roads in Virginia.

"This Republican, and so do my Democrat friends, all use our public roads and they badly need help," said May.

Michael O'Connor, a spokesman for the Virginia Petroleum, Convenience and Grocery Association, said the organization does not see the need for May's proposed tax, as the money gathered from the state's existing gas tax has increased, although the tax itself has remained the same since 1987.

"What I say to that is the number of lane miles that have to be maintained have gone up many times more than the amount the revenues have gone up," countered May.