HURF allocation adjustments
Senate Bill 1349 requires the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) to adjust Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) and vehicle license tax (VLT) allocations by no more than twenty-five percent each month.
Highway User Revenue Fund
(HURF):
The State of Arizona taxes motor fuels and collects a variety of fees relating to the registration and operation of motor vehicles on the public highways of the state. These collections include gasoline and use fuel taxes, motor carrier taxes, vehicle license tax, motor vehicle registration fees and other miscellaneous fees. These revenues are deposited in the Arizona Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) and are then distributed to the cities, towns, counties and the State Highway Fund. These funds represent the primary source of revenues available to the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for highway construction and improvements and other related expenses.
Nineteen percent of the HURF is distributed to Arizona counties. Of the nineteen percent, 72 percent of the counties’ monthly HURF allocation is distributed according to each county’s portion of the amount of gasoline sold and the estimated use fuel consumed in the state. The remaining 28 percent of the amount is distributed according to each counties portion of the states’ unincorporated population.
Vehicle
License Tax (VLT):
The Vehicle License Tax (VLT) is an ad valorem tax based on the assessed value of the vehicle. The VLT revenues are distributed to the HURF, State Highway Fund, State General Fund, Cities/Towns, Counties, and Local Transportation Assistance Fund (LTAF II). The counties receive 22.16 percent of the VLT distribution for general fund purposes and 5.12 percent from the VLT distribution for highway purposes.
In the distribution of HURF and VLT allocations, an overage may occur due to discrepancies in reporting and a county receives more than its designated monthly allocation. Current statute outlines distribution adjustments for shortages and overages. In the case of overages, ADOT is allowed to subtract the overage from the subsequent months of HURF allocations to the county of up to 50 percent of the total regular allocation for that month.