TYLER, TX (KLTV) -
State Senator Kevin Eltife of Tyler has filed a proposed constitutional amendment asking voters to approve raising the state's sales tax rate by one-half of one percent to pay off all the state's Department of Transportation bond debt.
The state currently has $27 billion of TXDOT debt to pay over 30 years.
"We could pay it off 15 years early, which would save $6 billion in interest, and would put TXDOT on a pay-as-you-go plan," Eltife said in a phone interview Wednesday. "So yes, it's a tax increase, but making that decision today will save billions of dollars and get out of debt much quicker."
If two-thirds of the Senate and two-thirds of the House passes Eltife's legislation, the constitutional amendment would need to be approved by Texas voters this November before it took effect.
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