In appointing the panel, Ritter made it clear he wanted the group to consider all options for maintaining roads. In previous efforts, officials were prohibited from considering tax increases.

The Colorado Department of Transportation estimates it will cost $65 billion to sustain the existing system of roads and bridges through 2030. To expand the system to keep pace with population growth would cost another $40 billion.

The department's 2007-08 budget is $1 billion. The total state budget is more than $17 billion.

In addition to the gas tax, other funding proposals that have been discussed include raising taxes on sales, income, rental cars and lodging.

Another idea is a tax on vehicle miles traveled, charging motorists a penny for each mile traveled in the state.

The discussion about road funding has added urgency because of last week's bridge collapse in Minneapolis in which at least five people died.

During the past two years, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota twice vetoed legislation to raise the state's gas tax to pay for transportation needs.

In the wake of the disaster, Pawlenty, a Republican, has reconsidered his position.

Lawmakers on Colorado's Joint Budget Committee, which writes the annual spending plan, expressed mixed views about increasing the gas tax.

Rep. Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, said he would support an increase in the gas tax to pay for maintaining roads and bridges.

"For years, the department has been saying that we're underfunding them," Pommer said. "Who knows how many issues we have lurking out there."

Any tax increase would need to be approved by voters because of limits imposed by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, an amendment added to the state constitution in 1992.

"We can say it, but nobody has to pay it unless it's approved by voters," Pommer said.

Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Larimer County, said Colorado shouldn't rewrite its budget because of a disaster in Minnesota.

"I don't think a problem in Minnesota necessarily means we've got a problem in Colorado," Johnson said. "We ought to design our budget to meet the needs of our state."

Johnson said he fought with statehouse Democrats this year to prevent deeper cuts in transportation funding. He said some Democratic proposals shifted money from roads to building construction, health care and the judicial department.

"I'd rather see us spend more of the money we've got on transportation rather than raising taxes," Johnson said.

Still, he acknowledged that the state's pool of money falls short of the needs identified by the Transportation Department.

"I'm expecting the governor to come up with a silver bullet and then for him to sell it to the public," Johnson said.

Staff writer Mark P. Couch can be reached at 303-954-1794 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .