Oklahoma lawmakers are tweaking a bill calling for raising diesel and gasoline taxes to aid the state’s highway system.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Larry Ferguson, R-Cleveland, is working with the Senate to find language everyone can live with before the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment May 23.

Ferguson has removed language from the proposal that would have dedicated some revenue from the fuel-tax increase to projects other than roads, The Oklahoman reported. The new language dedicates all revenue to road and bridge projects.

HB1385 would raise the diesel tax from 14 to 22 cents a gallon and the gasoline tax from 17 to 22 cents a gallon. The state reportedly would receive $145 million annually from the tax increases.

If approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor, the proposal would go before the public in the November 2004 general election.