The short answer is yes. Yes, it does. (The long answer will be nothing but excuses from its proponents.)
Part II, Article 6-a, states that any money raised through gas taxes (gas road tolls), must be used exclusively for public highways and “no part of such revenues shall, by transfer or funds or otherwise, be diverted to any other purpose whatsoever.”
[Art.] 6-a. [Use of Certain Revenues Restricted to Highways.] All revenue in excess of the necessary cost of collection and administration accruing to the state from registration fees, operators’ licenses, gasoline road tolls or any other special charges or taxes with respect to the operation of motor vehicles or the sale or consumption of motor vehicle fuels shall be appropriated and used exclusively for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of public highways within this state, including the supervision of traffic thereon and payment of the interest and principal of obligations incurred for said purposes; and no part of such revenues shall, by transfer of funds or otherwise, be diverted to any other purpose whatsoever.
So HB 617 is unconstitutional.
Note to the NH State Senate HB 617 cannot raise funds through a gas tax for any other purpose. If you were looking for a way to kill it you have your out. (Or should I now expect a litany of loopholes and end-arounds from revenue junkies?)
…
Fifteen Republicans voted for it, as did 192 Democrats. Ten Democrats crossed the aisle to vote against the unconstitutional tax on the middle class and small business owners. We appreciate their support on this issue.
Democrats who voted no
Carroll, Douglas | Democrat |
Cote, David | Democrat |
Garcia, Michael | Democrat |
Leishman, Peter | Democrat |
O’Flaherty, Tim | Democrat |
Parkhurst, Henry | Democrat |
Rosenwald, Cindy | Democrat |
Shaw, Barbara | Democrat |
Thomas, Yvonne | Democrat |
White, Syndi | Democrat |
Here is the full list of Yea votes for HB 617
Rep | Party | County | District | Vote |
Aguiar, James | Democrat | Grafton | 7 | Yea |
Alicea, Caroletta | Democrat | Merrimack | 8 | Yea |
Almy, Susan | Democrat | Grafton | 13 | Yea |
Ames, Richard | Democrat | Cheshire | 9 | Yea |
Andrews, Christopher | Democrat | Merrimack | 23 | Yea |
Andrews-Ahearn, E. Elaine | Democrat | Rockingham | 37 | Yea |
Arsenault, Beth | Democrat | Belknap | 9 | Yea |
Baber, William | Democrat | Strafford | 14 | Yea |
Backus, Robert | Democrat | Hillsborough | 19 | Yea |
Bartlett, Christy | Democrat | Merrimack | 19 | Yea |
Beaulieu, Jane | Democrat | Hillsborough | 45 | Yea |
Benn, Bernard | Democrat | Grafton | 12 | Yea |
Berch, Paul | Democrat | Cheshire | 1 | Yea |
Berube, Roger | Democrat | Strafford | 18 | Yea |
Bixby, Peter | Democrat | Strafford | 17 | Yea |
Boisvert, Ronald | Democrat | Hillsborough | 45 | Yea |
Borden, David | Democrat | Rockingham | 24 | Yea |
Bouchard, Candace | Democrat | Merrimack | 18 | Yea |
Briden, Steven | Democrat | Rockingham | 18 | Yea |
Brown, Pam | Democrat | Hillsborough | 31 | Yea |
Brown, Rebecca | Democrat | Grafton | 2 | Yea |
Buco, Thomas | Democrat | Carroll | 2 | Yea |
Burdwood, Greg | Democrat | Strafford | 17 | Yea |
Burke, Rachel | Democrat | Strafford | 2 | Yea |
Burns, Scott | Democrat | Merrimack | 2 | Yea |
Burridge, Delmar | Democrat | Cheshire | 16 | Yea |
Burtis, Elizabeth | Democrat | Rockingham | 6 | Yea |
Butler, Edward | Democrat | Carroll | 7 | Yea |
Butynski, William | Democrat | Cheshire | 1 | Yea |
Cahill, Michael | Democrat | Rockingham | 17 | Yea |
Cali-Pitts, Jacqueline | Democrat | Rockingham | 30 | Yea |
Campbell, David | Democrat | Hillsborough | 33 | Yea |
Carey, Lorrie | Democrat | Merrimack | 26 | Yea |
Carson, Clyde | Democrat | Merrimack | 7 | Yea |
Chandley, Shannon | Democrat | Hillsborough | 22 | Yea |
Chase, Cynthia | Democrat | Cheshire | 8 | Yea |
Cloutier, John | Democrat | Sullivan | 10 | Yea |
Connor, Evelyn | Democrat | Hillsborough | 2 | Yea |
Cooney, Mary | Democrat | Grafton | 8 | Yea |
Coulombe, Gary | Democrat | Coos | 3 | Yea |
Cushing, Robert | Democrat | Rockingham | 21 | Yea |
Danielson, David | Republican | Hillsborough | 7 | Yea |
Davis, Frank | Democrat | Merrimack | 20 | Yea |
DiMartino, Lisa | Democrat | Belknap | 2 | Yea |
DiSilvestro, Linda | Democrat | Hillsborough | 9 | Yea |
Eaton, Daniel | Democrat | Cheshire | 3 | Yea |
Ebel, Karen | Democrat | Merrimack | 5 | Yea |
Emerson-Brown, Rebecca | Democrat | Rockingham | 27 | Yea |
Enman, Larry | Democrat | Coos | 1 | Yea |
Flockhart, Eileen | Democrat | Rockingham | 18 | Yea |
Ford, Susan | Democrat | Grafton | 3 | Yea |
Frambach, Mary | Democrat | Merrimack | 21 | Yea |
Frazer, June | Democrat | Merrimack | 13 | Yea |
French, Barbara | Democrat | Merrimack | 6 | Yea |
Friedrich, Carol | Democrat | Grafton | 16 | Yea |
Friel, William | Republican | Rockingham | 14 | Yea |
Gage, Ruth | Democrat | Hillsborough | 6 | Yea |
Gagnon, Raymond | Democrat | Sullivan | 5 | Yea |
Gale, Sylvia | Democrat | Hillsborough | 28 | Yea |
Gardner, Janice | Democrat | Strafford | 15 | Yea |
Gidge, Kenneth | Democrat | Hillsborough | 33 | Yea |
Gile, Mary | Democrat | Merrimack | 27 | Yea |
Goley, Jeffrey | Democrat | Hillsborough | 8 | Yea |
Gorman, Mary | Democrat | Hillsborough | 31 | Yea |
Gottling, Suzanne | Democrat | Sullivan | 2 | Yea |
Grady, Brenda | Democrat | Hillsborough | 21 | Yea |
Graham, John | Republican | Hillsborough | 7 | Yea |
Grassie, Anne | Democrat | Strafford | 11 | Yea |
Grenier, James | Republican | Sullivan | 7 | Yea |
Grossman, Kenneth | Democrat | Strafford | 4 | Yea |
Gulick, Ruth | Democrat | Belknap | 1 | Yea |
Hammon, Marcia | Democrat | Coos | 5 | Yea |
Hammond, Jill | Democrat | Hillsborough | 24 | Yea |
Hansberry, Daniel | Democrat | Hillsborough | 35 | Yea |
Harding, Laurie | Democrat | Grafton | 13 | Yea |
Harriott-Gathright, Linda | Democrat | Hillsborough | 36 | Yea |
Hatch, William | Democrat | Coos | 6 | Yea |
Heden, Ruth | Democrat | Hillsborough | 23 | Yea |
Heffron, Frank | Democrat | Rockingham | 18 | Yea |
Helmstetter, Barbara | Democrat | Rockingham | 9 | Yea |
Henle, Paul | Democrat | Merrimack | 12 | Yea |
Hess, David | Republican | Merrimack | 24 | Yea |
Higgins, Patricia | Democrat | Grafton | 12 | Yea |
Hirsch, Geoffrey | Democrat | Merrimack | 6 | Yea |
Hooper, Dorothea | Democrat | Strafford | 16 | Yea |
Horrigan, Timothy | Democrat | Strafford | 6 | Yea |
Hubbard, Pamela | Democrat | Strafford | 12 | Yea |
Hunt, Jane | Democrat | Merrimack | 15 | Yea |
Huot, David | Democrat | Belknap | 3 | Yea |
Irwin, Virginia | Democrat | Sullivan | 6 | Yea |
Jack, Martin | Democrat | Hillsborough | 36 | Yea |
Jasper, Shawn | Republican | Hillsborough | 37 | Yea |
Johnsen, Gladys | Democrat | Cheshire | 7 | Yea |
Kaen, Naida | Democrat | Strafford | 5 | Yea |
Karrick, David | Democrat | Merrimack | 25 | Yea |
Katsiantonis, George | Democrat | Hillsborough | 17 | Yea |
Katsiantonis, Thomas | Democrat | Hillsborough | 15 | Yea |
Kelley, John | Democrat | Hillsborough | 32 | Yea |
Kelly, Sally | Democrat | Merrimack | 20 | Yea |
Ketel, Stephen | Democrat | Strafford | 17 | Yea |
Khan, Aboul | Republican | Rockingham | 20 | Yea |
Kidder, David | Republican | Merrimack | 5 | Yea |
Knowles, Mary Ann | Democrat | Hillsborough | 37 | Yea |
Lauer, Linda | Democrat | Grafton | 15 | Yea |
Lavender, Tom | Democrat | Carroll | 5 | Yea |
Lefebvre, Benjamin | Democrat | Sullivan | 1 | Yea |
Lerandeau, Alfred | Democrat | Cheshire | 12 | Yea |
Levesque, Melanie | Democrat | Hillsborough | 26 | Yea |
Lockwood, Priscilla | Republican | Merrimack | 9 | Yea |
Long, Patrick | Democrat | Hillsborough | 42 | Yea |
Lovejoy, Patricia | Democrat | Rockingham | 36 | Yea |
Lovett, Sid | Democrat | Grafton | 8 | Yea |
MacKay, James | Democrat | Merrimack | 14 | Yea |
MacKay, Mariellen | Democrat | Hillsborough | 30 | Yea |
Malloy, Dennis | Democrat | Strafford | 4 | Yea |
Manley, Jonathan | Democrat | Hillsborough | 3 | Yea |
Mann, John | Democrat | Cheshire | 2 | Yea |
Mann, Maureen | Democrat | Rockingham | 32 | Yea |
Massimilla, Linda | Democrat | Grafton | 1 | Yea |
McCloskey, David | Democrat | Hillsborough | 16 | Yea |
McConkey, Mark | Republican | Carroll | 3 | Yea |
McNamara, Richard | Democrat | Hillsborough | 38 | Yea |
Menear, H. Robert | Democrat | Strafford | 25 | Yea |
Miller, David | Democrat | Strafford | 23 | Yea |
Milz, David | Republican | Rockingham | 6 | Yea |
Moffett, Howard | Democrat | Merrimack | 9 | Yea |
Moody, Marcia | Democrat | Rockingham | 17 | Yea |
Moynihan, Wayne | Democrat | Coos | 2 | Yea |
Mulholland, Catherine | Democrat | Grafton | 17 | Yea |
Muns, Chris | Democrat | Rockingham | 21 | Yea |
Myler, Mel | Democrat | Merrimack | 10 | Yea |
Nelson, Mary | Democrat | Hillsborough | 35 | Yea |
Nordgren, Sharon | Democrat | Grafton | 12 | Yea |
O’Brien, Michael | Democrat | Hillsborough | 36 | Yea |
O’Hearne, Andrew | Democrat | Sullivan | 3 | Yea |
Pantelakos, Laura | Democrat | Rockingham | 25 | Yea |
Pastor, Beatriz | Democrat | Grafton | 12 | Yea |
Patten, Dick | Democrat | Merrimack | 17 | Yea |
Pelletier, Marsha | Democrat | Strafford | 20 | Yea |
Perry, Robert | Democrat | Strafford | 3 | Yea |
Phillips, Larry | Democrat | Cheshire | 5 | Yea |
Piper, Wendy | Democrat | Grafton | 10 | Yea |
Porter, Marjorie | Democrat | Hillsborough | 1 | Yea |
Ramsey, Peter | Democrat | Hillsborough | 8 | Yea |
Ratzki, Mario | Democrat | Merrimack | 1 | Yea |
Raymond, Ian | Democrat | Belknap | 4 | Yea |
Rhodes, Brian | Democrat | Hillsborough | 30 | Yea |
Rice, Chip | Democrat | Merrimack | 27 | Yea |
Richardson, Gary | Democrat | Merrimack | 10 | Yea |
Roberts, Kris | Democrat | Cheshire | 4 | Yea |
Robertson, Timothy | Democrat | Cheshire | 6 | Yea |
Rogers, Katherine | Democrat | Merrimack | 28 | Yea |
Rogers, Rose Marie | Democrat | Strafford | 22 | Yea |
Rokas, Ted | Democrat | Hillsborough | 12 | Yea |
Rollo, Deanna | Democrat | Strafford | 18 | Yea |
Sad, Tara | Democrat | Cheshire | 1 | Yea |
Scarlotto, Joe | Democrat | Rockingham | 31 | Yea |
Schamberg, Thomas | Democrat | Merrimack | 4 | Yea |
Schlachman, Donna | Democrat | Rockingham | 18 | Yea |
Schmidt, Andrew | Democrat | Sullivan | 1 | Yea |
Schmidt, Janice | Democrat | Hillsborough | 28 | Yea |
Schmidt, Peter | Democrat | Strafford | 19 | Yea |
Schuett, Dianne | Democrat | Merrimack | 20 | Yea |
Shattuck, Gilman | Democrat | Hillsborough | 1 | Yea |
Shepardson, Marjorie | Democrat | Cheshire | 10 | Yea |
Sherman, Thomas | Democrat | Rockingham | 24 | Yea |
Shurtleff, Stephen | Democrat | Merrimack | 11 | Yea |
Smith, Marjorie | Democrat | Strafford | 6 | Yea |
Smith, Suzanne | Democrat | Grafton | 8 | Yea |
Smith, Timothy | Democrat | Hillsborough | 17 | Yea |
Soucy, Timothy | Democrat | Hillsborough | 34 | Yea |
Spang, Judith | Democrat | Strafford | 6 | Yea |
Spratt, Stephen | Democrat | Hillsborough | 4 | Yea |
Stevens, Audrey | Democrat | Strafford | 7 | Yea |
Sullivan, Daniel | Democrat | Hillsborough | 42 | Yea |
Sullivan, Peter | Democrat | Hillsborough | 10 | Yea |
Sweeney, Cynthia | Democrat | Sullivan | 8 | Yea |
Sykes, George | Democrat | Grafton | 13 | Yea |
Sytek, John | Republican | Rockingham | 8 | Yea |
Takesian, Charlene | Republican | Hillsborough | 37 | Yea |
Tanner, Linda | Democrat | Sullivan | 9 | Yea |
Theberge, Robert | Democrat | Coos | 3 | Yea |
Ticehurst, Susan | Democrat | Carroll | 3 | Yea |
Till, Mary | Democrat | Rockingham | 6 | Yea |
Tilton, Franklin | Republican | Belknap | 3 | Yea |
Tilton, Joy | Democrat | Merrimack | 3 | Yea |
Townsend, Charles | Democrat | Grafton | 11 | Yea |
Turcotte, Alan | Democrat | Merrimack | 22 | Yea |
Vail, Suzanne | Democrat | Hillsborough | 29 | Yea |
Verschueren, James | Democrat | Strafford | 13 | Yea |
Wall, Janet | Democrat | Strafford | 6 | Yea |
Wallner, Mary Jane | Democrat | Merrimack | 10 | Yea |
Walsh, Robert | Democrat | Hillsborough | 11 | Yea |
Walz, Mary Beth | Democrat | Merrimack | 23 | Yea |
Ward, Kenneth | Democrat | Strafford | 21 | Yea |
Waterhouse, Kevin | Republican | Rockingham | 7 | Yea |
Watrous, Rick | Democrat | Merrimack | 16 | Yea |
Wazlaw, Brian | Democrat | Rockingham | 29 | Yea |
Webb, Leigh | Democrat | Merrimack | 3 | Yea |
Weber, Lucy | Democrat | Cheshire | 1 | Yea |
Weed, Charles | Democrat | Cheshire | 16 | Yea |
White, Andrew | Democrat | Grafton | 13 | Yea |
Whittemore, Lisa | Democrat | Rockingham | 5 | Yea |
Williams, Kermit | Democrat | Hillsborough | 4 | Yea |
Winters, Joel | Democrat | Hillsborough | 18 | Yea |
Woodbury, David | Democrat | Hillsborough | 5 | Yea |
Young, Harry | Democrat | Cheshire | 14 | Yea |
With a hat tip to several people, including our happy commenters one of whom pointed out the constitutional limitations.