NASHVILLE (AP) — The Middle Tennessee Mayors Caucus is urging state lawmakers to approve Republican Gov. Bill Haslam's transportation funding proposal that would include the state's first gas tax hike since 1989.

Haslam's proposal, dubbed the Improve Act, would also make cuts to the state's sales tax on groceries, corporate taxes paid by manufacturers and the tax on earnings from stocks and bonds.

The Middle Tennessee Mayors Caucus includes Nashville and nine surrounding counties. They single out a provision of the bill that would provide for a local option to have voters decide on whether to raise city or county taxes to pay for transit projects.

The mayors say that providing for a referendum on those taxes "allows these decisions to be made at home."

The House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Wednesday morning.