DES MOINES – A proposed fuel tax increase that failed in the Iowa Senate has surfaced in the Iowa House, The Gazette reports.

State Rep. Josh Byrnes, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, filed an amendment to House File 2444, calling for reducing the state’s per-gallon fuel tax but tacking on a 5% excise tax on the wholesale of gasoline. Should the excise tax be passed on to the consumer, the net result would be a per-gallon increase of “around 10 cents a gallon, or $40 to $60 a year” over current prices, Byrnes said.

Iowans currently pay 21 cents in state tax on a gallon of regular gasoline and 19 cents for ethanol-blended fuel. The Iowa Department of Transportation is looking to fund $215 million in backlog repairs, and an excise tax increase would address that need.

State Rep. Jim Lykam said caucus leadership told lawmakers they needed roughly an even number of Democrats and Republicans in each chamber to vote for a tax increase for it to get brought up this session.

“Are you going to have the House pass an amendment on a gas tax, without the votes from the Senate?” Lykam asked. “You need all four chambers putting up their fair share of the vote … Why are you going to hang one (chamber) out there on a dead bill?”

Byrnes said he believes the House has the necessary support where he hopes he can get an up-or-down vote.

“You’re going to travel on better roads, you’re making an investment in our economy,” Byrnes said. “We’re an export state. We’re able to continue being an export state because we have good infrastructure.”