The Alabama Senate Tuesday approved a 10-cent increase in the state's gas tax Tuesday, the first increase in the levy since 1992.

The 28 to 6 vote to approve the legislation finished a five-day special session and handed a legislative victory to Gov. Kay Ivey, who signed the bill Tuesday afternoon.

Ivey praised legislators of both parties who she said had "made a bold statement they are all in when investing in Alabama's infrastructure."

"Today we have made a bold step forward, a major step indeed, because we have chosen to work in a bipartisan way," the governor said before signing the bill.

In the local delegation, Sen. Will Barfoot, R-Pike Road, voted against the bill. Sens. David Burkette, D-Montgomery and Clyde Chambliss, R-Prattville, voted for it. In all, 22 Republicans and six Democrats voted for the bill; 5 Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Vivian Davis Figures of Mobile, voted against it.

"It was a strong vote," said Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said after legislation passed the upper chamber of the Legi. "82 percent of this body said let’s move Alabama forward with an incredible infrastructure bill that’s going to create opportunity for our citizens."

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, would increase the tax from 18 cents to 28 cents over the next three years. Starting in 2023, the tax would be tied to the National Highway Construction Cost Index (NHCCI), and go through automatic adjustments of up to a cent every two years.

Marsh said during the Senate debate the investments would attract jobs and help keep young people in Alabama, a concern he said he had heard from constituents.

"They want to know that their kids and their grandkids are going to want to stay in Alabama," he said. "To do that, they’ve got to have opportunity. We’re setting up our kids and grandkids to get good jobs because infrastructure is a part of that."

More:Gas tax increase advances in Alabama Senate

Poole's bill would also allocate up to $11.7 million a year for improvements at the Port of Mobile. A separate bill would allow the state to borrow up to $150 million to fund the improvements. Supporters say the allocations would draw down a larger pool of funding from the federal government.

The legislation would also impose a $200 annual fee on electric vehicles and a $100 fee on plug-in hybrids. Some of the money raised would fund a grant program to install electric transportation infrastructure, like charging stations.

"That is a little higher than what an average vehicle is going to spend," said Chambliss, who handled the bill on the Senate floor. "There is a reason for this. The reason is we're going to go through the state to install charging stations."

The fees would drop to $150 a year and $75 a year when EV and plug-in hybrids make up 4 percent of total vehicle registrations in the state, excluding trailers and semitrailers. That would be equivalent to about 196,000 vehicles today. According to the Alabama Department of Revenue, there were about 1,200 EVs registered in Alabama in 2018 and an uncertain number of plug-in hybrids among the 33,000 hybrids registered last year.

About 67 percent of the money raised from the tax would go to the Alabama Department of Transportation. 25 percent would go to counties, with 45 percent of that allocation distributed evenly among the 67 counties, and the rest allocated on population.

The cities in Alabama would get about 8 percent of the funds. 25 percent would be distributed evenly among counties; the remainder would go out based on population.

The Legislative Services Agency estimates the tax would increase state revenues by $194 million next year. They would go up to $259 million in 2021 and to $323 million in 2022, before indexing begins. All the funds raised would fund road and bridge replacement, which business and government groups argue has fallen behind neighboring states, hurting public safety and economic competitiveness.

Supporters of the bill were optimistic about passage on Tuesday morning, though there was opposition. Some Republican members of the Senate indicated on Monday they would like to see changes to the indexing mechanism, such as a sunset provision.

Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, a freshman legislator, tried to amend the bill by putting the entire 10-cent increase in at once; creating a $40 million fund to assist low-income individuals with payment and end the index in 2039. Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, another freshman, expressed support for the amendment, saying it would affect working class people in his district.

"They don't have the extra money to go pay for this tax," he said.

Chambliss managed to get the amendment tabled, but pledged to work with Roberts and Gudger on the fund when the regular session reconvenes next week.

Senate Democrats, like their House colleagues, tied their support to Republican commitments to discuss Medicaid expansion, though Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, said she wanted an explicit public declaration from Gov. Kay Ivey to support Medicaid expansion before she voted yes.

More:House Dems think gas tax support got Medicaid expansion discussions

On the floor Tuesday, Figures objected to the regressivity of the gas tax and criticized majority Republicans for not expanding Medicaid. She also noted people who can only afford to put $5 or $10 of gasoline in the vehicles at a time, and said one constituent asked her when Ivey last bought a tank of gasoline.

"I cannot with a clear conscience vote yes on this bill, because of what it does to low-income people and people under the poverty level," Figures said, adding "I cannot vote yes on this way to pay for the infrastructure."

House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, alluded to the Democrats' push for Medicaid expansion at Tuesday's bill-signing, saying he looked forward to "moving on human infrastructure."

"You will see more bipartisan efforts to address the tough issues in the state, as we move forward," Daniels said.

Ivey, asked about Medicaid expansion, said Tuesday "we will discuss it when we have our first listening session" with Democratic and Republican leaders.

Barfoot, who voted against the bill, said he supported infrastructure and praised leadership for their work.

"To me there were other sources of revenue or potential sources of revenue, whether it be a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indias, or offsetting sales tax on grocery items," he said. "Ultimately, if those two options failed or if other sources of revenue were not out there, any gas tax in my mind should have been raised to meet the specific needs for safety, to bring in new businesses and relieve congestion over a specific time."

Burkette said he voted for the bill after he "looked at it carefully, weighed the option to determine what was in the best interests of my constituents I have been in contact with."

Poole and Chambliss on Monday tried to address the indexing concerns with charts that suggesting that the state gas tax would only have seen a net increase of a penny had it been tied to the NHCCI over the last 16 years. Chambliss also said he was trying to tell people this was a chance to help resolve a major issue.

"We always kick the can down the road in state government," he said. "This for the first time in state government is an attempt to stop kicking the can down the road. Let's solve the problem."

Ivey told WSFA in an interview last week that freshmen running for office last year were "briefed" on the need for infrastructure and that if they opposed a gas tax increase, "they were not encouraged to run." Asked about her comments on Tuesday, the governor said candidates met with "different stakeholder groups and asked why they wanted to run.

Marsh and House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said Tuesday candidates wre told about the possible issues they faced in the legislative session, but were not advised how to vote.

"I let them know right up front infrastructure would be a major issue for the state," Marsh said. "It was a critical component we had to deal with. I didn’t ask 'Will you vote for it?' I said that’s something we’re going to have to deal with."

McCutcheon said he spoke with candidates about issues like infrastructure, education and the state's prisons.

"There was no way anyone was discouraged," he said. "But I felt like it would be unfair for them not to be aware of the issues they were going to be facing."

Barfoot, a freshman legislator, said he did not meet with Ivey during last year's campaign, nor did anyone tell him how to

"In no way was it said 'Hey, here’s exactly what we’re going to propose, and we want you on board for these specifics,'" he said.