Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell says he supports Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposed gas-tax hike coupled with a roll back of other taxes.

Mark Luttrell

But before he goes to the Shelby County Commission for a statement of unified support from county government, Luttrell said Monday, Jan. 23, he wants to see how the Tennessee Legislature amends it.

“We rolled out an initial proposal,” Luttrell said. “That’s a starting point.”

Haslam has proposed a seven-cent-a-gallon increase in the state gas tax and a 12-cent-a-gallon hike in the diesel tax as well as a $5 registration fee for vehicles, a yearly user fee on electric vehicles and increased fees on cars that use alternative fuels. The package also includes a 3 percent charge on rental cars.

Haslam has coupled that with reducing the state sales tax on groceries by half a percent, reducing state franchise and excise taxes on businesses and accelerating the phase-out of the Hall income tax on dividends and investment income.

“I don’t think it would have a chance in the world if it didn’t have corresponding cuts,” Luttrell said.

The combination is what prompted Shelby County Commissioner Terry Roland to offer some conditional support for the package.

“I can’t say right now. It sounds good,” Roland said at Monday’s commission session after Luttrell spoke. “They are doing it in such a way that we are going down on some taxes and we are getting more bang for our buck.”

The result is a proposal that would be revenue neutral by Haslam’s math. And Luttrell says because those traveling through Tennessee buy gas or diesel and pay the tax, the tax burden is spread across a broader base.

“I think the governor’s recognizing that there may be some amendments to his proposal,” Luttrell said. “He’s looking at what he can get through the General Assembly to accomplish the financial task he’s after. I think we are going to have to wait and see how this kind of shakes out after hearings. We know there are a number of different proposals circulating in the General Assembly. Some of them may be better and some of them may not.”

Luttrell says he may offer a resolution in support of gas-tax legislation once a final version emerges.

At Monday’s session of the commission, the body approved resolutions creating permanent pedestrian easements for the Wolf River Greenway on land owned by the city and county governments northwest of Walnut Grove Road on the west side of the Wolf River.

With commission chairman Melvin Burgess Jr. and chairwoman pro tempore Heidi Shafer absent, the commission selected Walter Bailey as interim chairman of the meeting in their absence. That move for a single meeting is a provision rarely used by the commission.