A South Dakota legislative committee is floating the idea of substantially increasing taxes used to build and maintain state and local roads, including a 10-cent-a-gallon boost in the state gas tax and a doubling of the annual vehicle license fee.

The committee plans to test public support before voting in October on whether to make a specific proposal.  Transportation officials say extra money is needed because construction and maintenance costs have skyrocketed while revenues have risen very little.

The panel is proposing to boost the gas tax from 22 cents to 32 cents a gallon to raise $57 million, increase the excise tax on vehicle sales by 1 percent to raise $19 million, and increase vehicle license fees to raise $62 million.