The tax would institute a $2.50 fee on each tire sold in the state and an additional $5 on the sales of each studded tire.

Jim Holm, a Fairbanks Republican, encouraged members to vote yes on the measure, noting the money would go toward $65 million needed this year to maintain the road system.

"The debate here goes right to the heart of the difference between the two parties," Holm said. "The idea that somebody else is going to pay for the use of the highways, rather than you or I that drive over those highways, I think is ridiculous. The money has to come from somewhere."

The bill passed on a vote of 24-12, with Reps. Carl Gatto of Palmer, Vic Kohring of Wasilla and Bev Masek of Willow breaking ranks with Republicans and voting against the measure.

Prior to the vote, Democrats argued the tire tax and many of the other taxes proposed by Republicans this session target the most vulnerable members of society - the poor and the elderly.

"It's really not that every member of this body is against all revenue-raising efforts," said Rep. Les Gara, an Anchorage Democrat. "It's really that there's a difference in philosophy by a number of members of this body.

"One day we'll come up with a comprehensive fiscal plan that is fair to all people, that doesn't disproportionately burden working people, that doesn't disproportionately burden senior citizens. When we come to that day, I will join with other members of this body, but this tax weighs heavier on a working person and weighs heavier on a senior citizen than it weighs on the most privileged members of society."

But Rep. Lesil McGuire, an Anchorage Republican who represents one of the wealthiest districts in the state, argued that constituents in her district are willing to pay the tax.

"I am willing to step up to the plate to help pay my fair share, and I know the men and women in my district are, too," McGuire said. "I know that from going door to door and talking with them."

McGuire said she recognizes "that folks cannot continue to simply continue to receive a (permanent fund) dividend check and not pay to reap the benefits of this state."

Rep. Jim Whitaker, a Fairbanks Republican who served as one of the chief architects of a sales tax plan that was rejected by the House on Saturday, gave his definition of "the magic budget."

"Don't cut services, roads, airports, schools - don't cut those," Whitaker said. "Don't tax, just balance the budget. I have a great deal of difficulty connecting those dots."

Sooner or later somebody has got to pay the bills, Whitaker said.

Rep. Bud Fate, a Fairbanks Republican, said the impact of the tire tax had been overstated on the House floor.

"It seems to me that $2.50 is not going to hurt quite as much as people said," Fate said. "That's about half of what a glass of wine costs. That's less than a pack of cigarettes. I think that we can afford to pay that to help chip away at some of the services that we are going to lose if we don't have small measures like this to help defray those costs that we know that we're going to lose."

But Fairbanks Democratic Rep. David Guttenberg said there is no certainty the revenue generated through the tire tax would go to road maintenance because of the Legislature's inability to dedicate funds for a particular purpose.

"One of the things that's wrong with this is that the funds will not go necessarily to highway maintenance," he said. "They just go into the general fund."

Through a procedural motion by Democratic Rep. Beth Kerttula of Juneau, the bill will get a final hearing today on the House floor.