Tiver poll shows opposition to gas tax hike

Freshman State Sen. Latham Tiver (R-Southampton) is brandishing a statewide poll showing that 62% of New Jersey voters oppose an increase in the gas tax, but that opposition burgeons to 72% when they learn that revenues will be used to fund New Jersey Transit and not road repairs. 

Tiver, a leader within the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, paid for the poll from his campaign account.  

The Assembly Appropriations Committee is considering a bill today that would reauthorize the Transportation Trust Fund for an addition five years and fund it through a gas tax increase of roughly two cents per year during that time frame. 

“These results only confirm the dozens upon dozens of conversations that I’ve had with working families, seniors, and small business owners across my district,” said Tiver. “I’ve spent my professional career advocating on behalf of improving transportation infrastructure, but this Democratic smash and grab plan for more money to bail out a chronically mismanaged agency like New Jersey Transit is a total non-starter with all voters – regardless of age, race, gender or political party.

Democrats are split, 45%-46%, on a gas tax increase, while7%% of Republicans and 72% of unaffiliated voters oppose it. 

More than six-in-ten New Jerseyans (63%) rate their local roads as fair or poor. 

Tiver and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco are proposing a “more nimble” TTF reauthorization that funds transportation projects without a gas tax hike by not diverting current revenues to New Jersey Transit and requiring electric vehicle owners to pay their fair share.

“We have shown that giving more money to the local municipalities can be done, without increasing the gas tax, while at the same time holding New Jersey Transit accountable – something New Jersey Democrats have failed to do for the last 7 years,” Tiver said. 

The poll shows 61% of voters support a tax on electric vehicles, while 27% oppose it, and 57% of New Jersyeans oppose phasing out gas vehicles.  Among Democrats, it’s 59%-27%, and it’s 60%-25% among Republicans. Unaffiliated voters support a $300 annual fee of electric vehicle by a 64%-28% margin.

One third of the state views New Jersey Transit as reliable, 26% say the public transportation system is unreliable, and 41% don’t use it at all.  But voters are split ove the idea of permitting New Jersey Transit to declare bankruptcy as a way of restructuring its debt. 

The poll was conducted by Illuminate for the Tiver for Senate campaign between March5-7 with a sample size of 1,158 registered voters and a margin of error of +/- 2.9%