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November 30, 1998 9:25 AM, EST

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is likely to ask the state legislature for a 3-cent-per-gallon increase in the state tax on diesel fuel as an alternative to the tolls on Interstate highways that the Arkansas Highway Commission wants to impose.

The additional revenue from diesel fuel sold in Arkansas would go to the $2.3 billion road program proposed by the Governor’s Citizens Council on Highways and Transportation. Mr. Huckabee appointed the council to come up with ways to finance the state’s highway maintenance needs.

“I anticipate that my package is essentially going to be the proposal that we saw the governor’s council present, which means I’ve got to push for that 3-cent diesel tax,” Mr. Huckabee said. “This is a responsible approach.”

Lane C. Kidd, president of the Arkansas Motor Carrier Assn., said that if he were forced to make a choice, he would choose a diesel tax over tolls. “Tolls on the roads will cost us more, there’s no question,” he said.

Once the legislative session gets under way in January, “we may see three or four tax proposals that could directly affect trucking,” Mr. Kidd said. “We’ll have to look at where we’ll come down on each of them.”

The governor’s plan “could eventually be the lesser of several evils,” he said.

Other highway funding proposals Mr. Kidd expects to see come up i include a 4.5% sales tax on motor fuel, a separate diesel tax measure of five to seven cents per gallon, and a weight-distance tax introduced when the state legislature convenes in January.

“When you look at it all, obviously we’re going to try and defeat as many as we can,” said Mr. Huckabee. “The two priorities, though, are the weight-distance tax and the tolls. After we defeat those we’ll take a look at the rest.”

Mr. Huckabee, who has received over $50,000 in campaign donations from the trucking industry in recent years, opposes the Arkansas Highway Commission’s attempts to introduce tolls on Interstates under its control. Under a provision of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, enacted last June, up to three states may apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a permit to collect tolls on Interstates within their boundaries to pay for road improvements they could not otherwise afford.

Arkansas is the only state to announce so far that it wants to take advantage of this plan.