Louisiana transportation department officials have their eye on higher fuel taxes and truck registration fees to help pay for road construction projects.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Secretary of Transportation and Development Kam Movassaghi wants Gov. Foster to address the issue in a special economic development legislative session planned for the spring. Otherwise, it will have to wait until the next regular session in 2003.
Movassaghi said he may ask lawmakers at the special session to look at increasing the state fuel tax by 1 or 2 cents per gallon, and possibly changing it annually based on the Consumer Price Index. He proposed raising the average $500 truck registration fee to match nearby states or the national average, saying nearby states charge from $800 to $2,200. Movassaghi says the state ranks 38th in the nation with its state fuel tax, and 45th in the nation with its $500 truck registration.
This isn’t the first time Movassaghi has looked at trucking’s pockets. Early last year, when the governor called the state Department of Transportation and Development to ask for fund-raising ideas, the agency complied with more than $100 million in possible fee increases - most of them aimed at truckers, including tripling annual truck registration fees and doubling the penalty for overweight trucks.