Gov. Bill Haslam says he approves of changes to his transportation funding proposal made in the state Senate earlier this week.

Haslam had originally proposed raising the tax on gasoline by 7 cents per gallon and diesel by 12 cents. The Senate Transportation Committee voted to change the gas tax hike to 6 cents and diesel to 10 cents, phased in over three years.

The panel also added a deeper cut to the sales tax on groceries and added more property tax relief for the elderly, veterans and the disabled.

Haslam said that while a smaller tax increase will mean less revenue to start tackling the state's $10 billion backlog in road and bridge projects, but he's willing go along with the changes if it helps the projects.

Source:

Partner Station WMSR