A panel of Utah legislators is recommending more than $4 billion in additional funds be set aside over the next decade for transportation projects, with a combination of sales tax, increased fees, fines and fuel tax.

The state’s Transportation Planning Task Force voted Nov. 5 to send the plan to the full Legislature for consideration when lawmakers meet next year.

Task force members also approved a report to the state Transportation Interim Committee that will be presented this week. The report suggests a quarter-cent statewide sales tax increase and a 5-cent fuel tax hike, with annual fuel tax indexing, which would mean yearly fuel tax increases. It also suggests every county be allowed to impose up to a half-cent sales tax for public transit and a quarter-cent tax for road projects, with voter approval.

The bills recommended by the task force would generate money to buy land to build new roads, and transfer responsibility of some state roads to local governments. One of the bills approved by the committee would authorize a $20 increase in vehicle registration fees.

Another bill, dubbed the Transportation Amendments and Highway Jurisdictional Transfer Task Force, has several parts. It would require cities and counties to notify the Utah Department of Transportation, local associations of government and transit authorities about development that would have a significant impact on state highways.

It would transfer all state roads that aren’t part of the national highway system to local jurisdictions in July 2006, unless a task force that would start meeting next year comes up with other recommendations. It would also require the state Transportation Commission to develop scientific ranking methods for new road projects. And it would give UDOT authority to create new toll roads or lanes on existing roads, and high-occupancy toll lanes on existing roads.

The third bill would increase registration fees for trailers, farm trucks, commercial trailers, personalized license plates and oversize and overweight permits for commercial vehicles by 10 percent. It would increase other fees and fines related to vehicle registration, license plates and commercial vehicles, and then deposit that money into a new transportation investment fund.

The fund would also get a percentage of sales-tax revenue, representing a portion of the amount generated by sales of vehicles and vehicle-related products. That sales tax is now going into the state’s general fund and paying for other state programs.