You could be paying higher taxes for North Carolina's transportation system if the General Assembly goes along with funding options a special panel is exploring.

The 21st Century Transportation Committee agreed to several options to address future funding Wednesday, before it comes up with a final draft to present to the General Assembly in January. The committee is trying to find new revenue sources partly due to a shrinking gas tax. It also is trying to take North Carolina's transportation system from a "D" rating to a "B" rating. To do that, it predicts a need for $1 billion dollars per year in new investments for the next 10 years.

Committee Chairman Brad Wilson said the challenges are clear.

"The fact of the matter is, the current revenue structure is failing North Carolina," Wilson said.

The 21st committee is offering a "menu" of funding options. Wilson said something called "VMT" or Vehicle Miles Traveled is a standout.

"This alternative seems to be the next best thing," Wilson said.

VMT would mean imposing a fee for how many miles you drive. The how and when would be up to the General Assembly.

Other funding options include increasing the tax on new cars and vehicle registration fees. Bond referendums and tolls on federal interstates are also on the table. Representative Becky Carney said she can't predict which options would be accepted, but said it could be more than one.

"I think there will be a lot of combinations you saw several fee increases in there, some that haven't been addressed since the early ‘90s," Carney said.

Chuck McGrady, a Henderson County Commissioner who is also on the committee, said he wants to make sure any new money will be well spent.

"My biggest fear is that we're going to be figuring out ways to get money and then putting it into the same old system that most people feel is, if not broken, not very efficient," McGrady said.

But in a bad economy some on the committee including McGrady question if the General Assembly will take action at all.

"I suspect we're going to come forward with a set of recommendations that near term are not going to be funded," McGrady said.