FUNDING: N.H. raises gas tax

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has passed a bill to raise the state’s gasoline tax by 4.2 cents to pay for transportation projects, according to the Concord Monitor. The bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Maggie Hassan, who said she would sign it.

The gas-tax increase is estimated to raise an additional $32 million in annual revenue for state and local road and bridge projects. Forty two percent of the money will be dedicated to bonding for the widening of I-93 between Salem and Manchester. The 4-cent increase will expire in 20 years, under the terms of the bill, or when the state has paid off the bonds for the I-93 project.

This is the first increase in the gas tax since 1991 and takes the tax from 18 to 22.2 cents a gallon.