Highway repair and maintenance will remain at a bare-bones level in South Dakota until a new or expanded funding source is found, Gov. Mike Rounds said Wednesday.

Like other parts of state government, the state Department of Transportation will have to live with less than it needs to meet obligations in road and bridge repair and maintenance, Rounds said during a pre-legislative luncheon sponsored by the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce and service clubs.

"So we'll have money for snow removal. We'll have money for basic repairs. But the overall maintenance of the roads will be significantly impacted over a period of time," the governor said.

It's a less-than-ideal situation that can't be helped without a new source of funds, such as an increase in the state motor-fuel tax - something that might be both premature and unlikely to pass the Legislature, he said. Raising state motor-fuel taxes would require support from two-thirds of the South Dakota Legislature. And Rounds said he hasn't seen any groundswell among lawmakers for a gas-tax hike.

"Previous legislative bodies have not shown an interest in tax increases," he said. "I can assure you we'll take their temperature about the direction they want to go. But with a two-thirds vote, it'll take a consensus of Republicans and Democrats alike."

When and if that time comes, Rounds likes the idea of combining an increase in motor-fuel taxes at the state level with a corresponding hike in road-related fees at the local level. As a state senator in 1999, Rounds sponsored legislation that raised the state motor-fuel taxes - including gasoline, ethanol and diesel fuel - and increased vehicle-licensing fees.

The fuel taxes haven't been increased since. With gasoline prices at the pump down to the $1.60-per-gallon level and many road-and-bridge needs going unmet, it might be time, Rapid City residents Bill Keck and Dick Tupper said.

Keck brought the question up with Rounds in a question-and-answer session after the luncheon and later said the low pump prices might make a tax hike more palatable to the driving public.

"I'd say this is the opportune time," Keck said.

Tupper was more emphatic.

"Everybody is afraid to raise the gas tax, even though we know it has to be done," Tupper said. "The governor has to take some leadership on this."

Rounds said he is open to the discussion. But before any tax hike was seriously considered, the state should clearly identify the needs and justification for the increase, he said. And it is also important to know where the federal fuel tax is headed, along with the important Federal Highway Trust Fund that helps with highway work across the nation, Round said.

"It's pretty early yet to make a decision on which direction we might move," he said. "The federal government has to decide what they're going to do about shoring up that highway trust fund."

More help for highway work might be part of a federal-assistance package being sought now by state governors. Because of his budget address Tuesday, Rounds didn't join other governors in Philadelphia to pitch that issue to President-elect Barack Obama.

Rounds said federal help would likely include funding of work projects with lasting impacts on infrastructure, including water and sewer systems and roads and bridges. Funding might also help states with Medicaid and special-education costs, he said.

But South Dakota lawmakers shouldn't plan on federal help while working on the new state budget, Rounds said.

"I don't expect Congress is going to be able to have a plan in place that would impact our general fund by the time the Legislature is ready to leave this year," he said. "I think this year, we should be relying on our own initiative to solve our problems."

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com