Audit: Arizona DOT Facing $62.7 Billion Budget Shortfall through 2035

"Motorists may need to pay more at the pump, on the roads or at the cash register to meet the funding needs of the Arizona Department of Transportation through 2035, according to a recent state audit," reports Curtis Spicer.

"The Office of the Auditor General released an audit earlier this week [pdf] that projects a $62.7 billion shortfall through fiscal year 2035 if the state Legislature doesn’t pass new directives."

The audit also recommends several possible policy changes that could help the state make up the deficit. All of those options, save one, involve generating new sources of revenue. The exception would raid the state's general fund.

State Rep. Karen Fann, a Republican and member of the House Transportation Committee, is even on the record in the article saying, "the major problem we have with voters in our state is that they are predominantly for no new taxes."