In a radio interview in the last week of 2004, Acting Governor Richard Codey suggested that an increase in the state’s gas tax would be legislated in the lame duck session after November’s gubernatorial and Assembly elections. The announcement prompted newspapers to editorialize on the state’s soon-to-be-empty transportation fund, with the Star Ledger calling a higher gas tax "the logical solution" to raising new transportation funds.

New Jersey’s mayors also recently showed surprising support for a gas tax increase. In response to a survey about the League of Municipalities, 72% of mayors said they would support a higher gas tax, as long as it supported the Transportation Trust Fund. (42% of mayors answered the survey.) A few elected officials, like Assembly Transportation Committee Chair John Wisniewski, have also vocally supported a gas tax increase, but most have been quiet about the issue, likely waiting until after the November election to take a stance. NJ's current gas tax of 10.5 cents per gallon is the third lowest in the country. (Last year, Governor McGreevey’s Blue Ribbon Commission on transportation supported a 12.5 cent hike.)

In his State of the State address, Governor Codey alluded to the need to raise the gas tax. "The long term needs of the Transportation Trust Fund must be addressed," he said. The other transportation issue he mentioned was his plan to widen the NJ turnpike. With an expiring trust fund, a boom in truck traffic in the coming years, and an expectation that fares for New Jersey Transit are about to be raised, the Governor has a busy year ahead of him when it comes to transportation. Codey’s proposed budget will be submitted to the legislature next month. 

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