Transportation Secretary Mark Gottlieb in November recommended increasing taxes and fees by $751 million over two years to help pay for roads.
But in recent interviews, lawmakers have cast doubt on providing that much new revenue and indicated wariness toward boosting the gas tax.
Walker was the latest to dim the possibilities of a gas tax increase, telling a group on Thursday that he was not "keen" on doing that. His comments came three days after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said they did not think they had the votes to raise the gas tax.
Republicans, who control the Legislature, said they wanted to ensure transportation money is being spent wisely before providing more money. In all, the DOT is seeking $7.7 billion in state and federal money over the next two years.
"They have such a huge budget, there's potentially dollars that could be used in a better way, or more efficiently is a better way to say it," said Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine).
Gottlieb's plan to boost road funding includes raising the gas tax by changing how it is calculated; imposing a new, 2.5% fee on vehicle purchases; and placing an additional fee on hybrid and electric vehicles.
The proposal would initially boost the gas tax by 5 cents a gallon — from 32.9 cents to 37.9 cents — and pave the way for automatic, inflationary increases in the future.
Walker has downplayed the possibility of including a gas tax increase in the state budget he plans to introduce on Feb. 3.
