Bill would raise Alabama gasoline tax by 5 cents a gallon

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(Julie Bennett/

Drivers would pay an extra 5 cents a gallon on gasoline and diesel fuel under a bill that won approval today in an Alabama House of Representatives committee, The Anniston Star reported.

The bill, sponsored by Rep Mac McCutcheon, R-Huntsville, could be voted on in the House as early as Friday.

It would raise an estimated $150 million a year that would go to the Alabama Department of Transportation and cities and counties for road construction and maintenance.

McCutcheon said the bill is needed, in part, because some tax dollars intended for the DOT has instead been siphoned off to the General Fund.

The bill includes a formula that would automatically add a 2-cent per gallon tax in some years.