W.Va. Groans Under Gas Prices

The Associated Press' Tom Breen highlights efforts by one industry group, West Virginians for Better Transportation, to aid the state's main roadbuilding and repair fund amid rising fuel costs.

"West Virginia drivers can now log onto http://www.keepwvmoving.org to calculate their daily, weekly, monthly and yearly state gasoline tax bill," Breen writes. "The group worries that high prices are keeping people off the road, which means lower tax revenues. The problem is that the state Road Fund, which pays for maintenance, paving and repairs on state roads and bridges, relies on gas taxes for about 60 percent of its revenue."

AP reported earlier that "county school systems need an extra $5 million to keep their 3,000 buses rolling in the wake of record diesel prices, and Gov. Joe Manchin might ask lawmakers for the money this summer during a special session."

And the Charleston Daily Mail noted previously that "overall fuel tax revenues for West Virginia have been growing at a steady pace since the early 1970s, but so has the tax rate. That trend could change if the cost of fuel remains as high as it's been in recent months."

The Williamson Daily News, meanwhile, cites sources in reporting that Senate Majority Leader H. Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, "is expected to present a letter to Gov. Joe Manchin Monday asking to help the trucking industry." The newspaper expects Chafin to request a freeze on at least some fuel taxes.