1-cent sales tax proposed for Mo. transportation

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's transportation commission chairman on Thursday proposed creation of a dedicated 1-cent sales tax to confront funding shortfalls for roads, bridges and other infrastructure needs.

The plan calls for the 1-cent sales tax to last 10 years with hopes of raising an estimated $7.9 billion during the life of the tax. Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Chairman Rudy Farber said he is seeking a "sustainable, long-term fix for Missouri's transportation problems." He said voter approval would be needed to enact the tax and -- if approved -- to renew it after a decade.

The plan calls for freezing the state gas tax rate and requiring the transportation commission to develop and publish a list of specific projects and timelines before voters would consider approving the sales tax. If the tax passes, the transportation commission then would produce an annual report to the Legislature and governor.

The sales tax would not be levied on medicine and groceries.

Farber said about $1 billion would be set aside for aging Interstate 70, which would include adding an eastbound and westbound lane between Independence in suburban Kansas City and Wentzville near St. Louis. Widening the highway, repaving it, and rebuilding bridges and interchanges have an estimated price tag of about $1.5 billion.

Officials estimated cities and counties each could receive $396 million during the 10-year period.

The state Transportation Department would have about $5.2 billion for road, bridge, transit, rail, waterway, aviation and other transportation projects in addition to the I-70 project.

Farber said the 1-cent sales tax increase could support as many as 270,000 jobs in Missouri for the next decade. He outlined the proposal during a transportation conference sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The commission has not voted on the proposal, but fellow transportation commission member Grace Nichols said the others serving on the commission are enthusiastic.

"Whether you're a soccer mom or whether you're the CEO of a major company, transportation is important," Farber said.

There has been growing concern about funding for Missouri's transportation system. Since at least 2006, Pete Rahn, then the Transportation Department director, said the annual highway construction budget would decline significantly by 2010 as bond payments for past projects came due. Rahn frequently used the metaphor that Missouri's funding would fall off a cliff. The funding decline was delayed because of federal economic stimulus money that was approved in 2009, but in the last year, the state's highway construction funding has fallen from $1.2 billion to less than $700 million.

A special transportation task force said in a report released this month that Missouri should be spending an additional $600 million to $1 billion annually on transportation projects.

Legislative leaders have signaled support this year for a possible bond package that could include construction at state facilities and college campuses. It also could include a component for transportation projects. However, a state sales tax increase likely would need approval from the legislature, and majority party Republicans generally have resisted tax increases while supporting tax cuts.

Sen. Mike Kehoe, who has been working on a transportation funding measure, said there were no significant conceptual differences between what he could propose and what Farber outlined. He was among three Republican lawmakers who attended a news conference with Farber about the sales tax.

Kehoe served on the transportation commission previously and last year filed legislation that would have allowed toll roads on I-70. He said the discussion about transportation funding has been a good thing.

"We have an infrastructure need. We've got problems," said Kehoe, R-Jefferson City.