YANKTON - A veteran state lawmaker isn't waiting for an interim legislative committee to come up with solutions for the shortfall of highway funding money in South Dakota.

Rep. Garry Moore, D-Yankton, says the state road fund is running dry - despite the recent transfer of $8 billion from the U.S. Treasury to shore up the financially teetering federal highway trust fund.

The fund supports road and bridge projects nationwide. Without the emergency funding, federal officials would have begun delaying payments to states for construction work as early as this month.

"In South Dakota, we've already broke our treasury in relationship to funding highway repair and maintenance," Moore says.

"We have to realize … that we're going to have to change some things, whether the people like it or not, and get more money into that (state) highway trust fund so we can do the road repairs that we need, build the streets and highways that we need."

Moore says he is preparing legislation that will increase state highway funding. There is no way to avoid higher taxes and fees to obtain those revenues, he says.

"No, there isn't. Not if we want to keep current," he says.

Moore's measure would increase the state tax on gasoline and diesel fuel, currently at 22 cents a gallon. Ethanol-enhanced gas is taxed at 20 cents.

The nine-term lawmaker did not disclose how much of an increase he will propose in the fuel tax. But he says his proposal will include a 1 percentage point increase in the current 3 percent state excise tax on new and used vehicles.

The state fuel tax derived revenues of $116 million last year in South Dakota, and the excise tax accounted for more than $57 million in revenues.

The Legislature's South Dakota Highway Needs and Financing Committee next meets Sept. 24 and 25.