A 16-percent gas tax hike is scheduled to take effect July 1st.  If no action is taken by the General Assembly, the wholesale tax will increase from 7 percent to 8.1 percent. 

Danbury Representative Dan Carter says that works out to about four cents per gallon.  He says the $60-million yearly increase would kick in at the height of vacation season, but doesn't have to.  He wants to see a hard hiring freeze saving the state $100-million.  Carter notes that state government hired 5,300 new employees over the past year.

He says the revenue could be made up through newly found health care savings.  The Office of Fiscal Analysis reports the savings could be $223-million. 

Last year's scheduled hike was blocked.  At that time Carter called for capping the tax permanently.

Carter says the tax was initially created to conform with federal law that mandated the 1-percent tax to provide tank owners with insurance.  But he says the continual increases since 2005 have been used to fund state government programs.  He says the increases have costs motorists $450-million more at the pump over the past 8 years. 

The combined local, state and federal gas taxes already totaling 63.4 cents per gallon is more than 14 cents above the national average.