Iowa’s gas station and convenience store owners are pleading with legislators to phase in an increase in the state’s fuel tax, arguing motorists along Iowa’s borders will opt for cheaper gas in neighboring states.

Delia Meier, is a vice president at the Iowa-80 Truck Stop in Walcott. Meier and over two dozen people testified Wednesday afternoon before three state senators who have signed off on a bill that would increase Iowa’s fuel tax by 10-cents a gallon. Meier says the market “needs time to adjust” to a 45 percent increase in the Iowa’s fuel taxes and phasing that in would be better for truck stops.

Bob Hartwig, a lobbyist for the Iowa Bankers Association, says raising the gas tax the association’s top priority in 2015.

The chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee says the gas tax bill will be debated in his committee next Tuesday.