State lawmakers to mull a gas tax hike...

Governor Robert Bentley has indicated he’d sign a gas tax increase, if state lawmakers sponsored it. Now, he may get the chance. Alabama lawmakers might soon debate a possible hike in the state's gasoline tax to pay for road and bridge construction. If it passes, it would be the first raise in the state gas tax since 1992. The Alabama Legislature's Joint Transportation Committee will hold five meetings around the state in January to discuss the idea. A bill introduced in the recent special session would have raised the tax by 5 cents per gallon. The measure would then adjust the tax up or down another 2 cents higher each year, depending on consumer prices and other factors. The bill never got a floor vote.