Senate opens investigation into the 'crudita' fuel tax that's supposed to fund Puerto Rico's highways

The Puerto Rico Senate's Finance, Budget and PROMESA Committee held a public hearing this Tuesday, September 15, to investigate the crude oil excise tax popularly known as "la crudita" -- the tax that has, since 2015, been earmarked to help finance the Highways and Transportation Authority (ACT) ¹². The hearing, chaired by Senator Migdalia Padilla Alvelo, included testimony from the Treasury Department, the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF) and the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) ¹.

The investigation stems from Senate Resolution 461, filed in March by Senator Wilmer Reyes Berríos, who called for a "serious, data-based" analysis of one of the tax components that weighs most heavily on the island's cost of living ². The measure orders an examination of the tax's legislative origin, its evolution, its economic impact on consumers, its connection to ACT financing, and its role within the certified fiscal plans and the public debt adjustment plan ¹². The committee has 120 days from filing to produce a report with findings and recommendations ².

Background: a highway system that can't get paved

"La crudita" was born with Law 1 of 2015, which raised the excise tax on a barrel of crude oil and its derivatives from $9.25 to $15.50, with the goal of generating roughly $185 million a year to provide liquidity to the then-Government Development Bank and pay down ACT's debt ³². Eleven years later, the agency is still in a funding crisis. Transportation and Public Works Secretary (DTOP) Edwin González Montalvo has acknowledged that for fiscal year 2026-2027 the agency received just $12 million for road maintenance across the entire island, while the Municipality of San Juan alone invests roughly $40 million a year on its own roads ⁴. At the same time, DTOP is tracking more than 700 identified landslides across the road network ⁴.

The agency's consolidated proposed budget for the current fiscal year was $193.4 million, but that came after a $353.2 million cut from what was requested ⁵. Of the $548 million DTOP requested for road maintenance, only $195 million was recommended -- well below the $200 million a year the agency says it needs just for asphalt paving ⁵. González Montalvo has said the cut "would limit DTOP's ability to sustain various administrative functions," including hiring, environmental compliance and legal obligations ⁵. To cope, the agency has had to shift from a reactive model -- waiting for a road to collapse -- to a preventive one, prioritizing projects like PR-112 between Moca and Isabela, PR-901 between Maunabo and Yabucoa, the PR-5 sinkhole in Naranjito, and lighting on PR-53 between Yabucoa and Fajardo ⁶.

What it means for you

If you drive daily on state roads outside the toll highways, this debate affects you directly: those are the same roads that have gone years without resurfacing, with potholes and landslides unresolved for lack of funding ⁴⁶. You already pay la crudita every time you fill up -- it's baked into the price per gallon -- so the question the Senate is investigating is whether that money is actually reaching the roads you drive on, or being redirected toward other fiscal commitments inside the debt adjustment plan ¹². If you live outside the San Juan metro area, the funding gap -- $12 million from DTOP for all 78 municipalities versus $40 million San Juan spends alone -- helps explain why rural roads tend to take longer to get fixed ⁴.

How to act / Checklist

1. If you live near an active landslide or sinkhole, report it through DTOP's portal (dtop.pr.gov) or its citizen service line; citizen reports feed into the agency's prioritized project list ⁶.
2. Follow the Senate's calendar at senado.pr.gov to track whether the Finance, Budget and PROMESA Committee schedules additional hearings on Resolution 461 ¹.
3. If your municipality isn't San Juan, ask your mayor's office to identify critical road segments and escalate them directly to DTOP as part of its preventive maintenance program ⁴⁶.
4. Hold onto your gas receipts if you suspect the excise tax isn't being properly routed; the legislative committee can request consumption data as part of the investigation ².
5. Check the status of active projects in your area -- ACT reports 363 active and 261 completed projects islandwide -- through DTOP's official communications bulletins ⁶.

What's next

The Finance, Budget and PROMESA Committee has until January 2027 to deliver its final report on Resolution 461, with findings and recommendations that could include adjustments to the tax rate or changes to how the revenue is split between ACT and other debt adjustment plan commitments ². In the meantime, DTOP continues seeking additional funds from the Office of Management and Budget -- including roughly $35 million in asphalt funds that remained restricted as of late August -- to meet its paving schedule before the fiscal year ends ⁶. Today's hearing is only the first step in a process that promises tension between the Legislature, the Fiscal Oversight Board and Governor Jenniffer González Colón's administration over who ultimately controls the money meant to keep Puerto Rico's roads passable.

Sources

¹ Foro Noticioso Puerto Rico, "Calendario del Senado (martes 15)", https://foronoticioso.com/calendario-del-senado-martes-15/ ² Senado de Puerto Rico, "Senador Wilmer Reyes Berríos propone investigación legislativa sobre el arbitrio al petróleo conocido como 'crudita'", https://www.senado.pr.gov/senador-wilmer-reyes-berros-propone-investigacin-legislativa-sobre-el-arbitrio-al-petrleo-conocido-como-crudita ³ Telemundo Puerto Rico, "¿Qué es la crudita?", https://www.telemundopr.com/noticias/puerto-rico/que-es-la-crudita-y-como-nos-beneficiaria-su-eliminacion/2544386/ ⁴ El Nuevo Día, "DTOP tiene menos presupuesto que el Municipio de San Juan para mantenimiento de carreteras", https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/legislatura/notas/dtop-tiene-menos-presupuesto-que-el-municipio-de-san-juan-para-mantenimiento-de-carreteras/ ⁵ Senado de Puerto Rico, "Senado pasa revista sobre análisis presupuestario del DTOP y la Comisión de Juegos", https://www.senado.pr.gov/senado-pasa-revista-sobre-anlisis-presupuestario-del-dtop-y-la-comisin-de-juegos ⁶ Metro Puerto Rico, "Reto mantener las carreteras tras recorte millonario", https://www.metro.pr.com/noticias/2026/08/27/reto-mantener-las-carreteras-tras-recorte-millonario/