North Carolina raised its motor fuels tax for gasoline, diesel, and alternative fuels by 10.4 percent, or by 2.3 cents a gallon in the past year.

The most recent increase, from 24.2 cents a gallon to 24.3 cents a gallon, will go into effect New Year’s Day. The jump follows a rise of 0.9 cents a gallon July 1 and of 1.3 cents a gallon Jan. 1, 2003.

Combined with a federal tax of 18.4 cents, North Carolina motorists pay a total of 42.7 cents in taxes for each gallon of fuel.

The state quietly mandated a 1.3-cent gasoline sales tax at the beginning of 2003 based on a previously legislated formula that is calculated every six months. The formula is based on the wholesale price of fuel during the preceding six-month period.

Proceeds from the motor fuels tax were originally earmarked for highway needs, and more recently officials have fretted about highway and bridge maintenance in a state that lags behind the national average in the condition of its roads and bridges.

Only two out of every five miles of paved road are considered in good condition and one out of every three bridges statewide is rated substandard, according to AAA Carolinas.

For years, however, state officials have transferred hundreds of millions of dollars from the Highway Fund and Highway Trust Fund to other items, such as schools, prisons, and health care, in the state budget. The Highway Trust Fund diversion, authorized in the original 1989 legislation creating the fund, had sent $170 million a year in revenue to the General Fund until the most recent state budget crisis, during which the General Assembly and Gov. Mike Easley increased the amount of the diversion to more than $250 million.

Additional millions of Highway Fund dollars go to fund programs such as rail, bus systems, and bike paths that do not involve highway construction or maintenance.

Richard Wagner is the editor of Carolina Journal.