Area lawmakers look to rescue road, bridge funding

Finding a funding solution to address Missouri's deteriorating roads and bridges will be a major focus of the General Assembly during the 2016 legislative session, area lawmakers say.

"I think it is the No. 1 issue," said state Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson. "We have bridges that are going to close down because they are not safe."

She said many of the state's roads are crumbling.

"If you go into the Bootheel, some of the roads are in terrible shape," she said.

Heavily traveled Interstate 70 needs major repairs, she said. "I-70 is a wreck."

Sen. Wayne Wallingford

State Rep. Kathy Swan and state Sen. Wayne Wallingford agree the Legislature will focus on finding new revenue for transportation needs in the coming session, which begins Jan. 6.

The two Cape Girardeau Republicans said finding a solution won't be easy.

Voters last year rejected a state sales-tax measure that would have generated an estimated $5.4 billion over 10 years for roads, bridges, ports, railways and public transit.

Wallingford said the state has limited funding options, ranging from raising the gas tax to instituting toll roads.

"I think the gas tax is one of the better choices," Wallingford said. "I am not a big fan of toll roads."

Rep. Kathy Swan

Lichtenegger said voters might look more favorably on raising the gas tax.

"With gas prices lower, that is an easier option," she noted.

But the Missouri Department of Transportation can't afford to fund other amenities for Missouri's cities, she said.

"Communities need to understand we can't put in sidewalks and bike paths," Lichtenegger said.

She said any state funding plan needs to focus solely on paying for roads, bridges and ports.

Rep. Holly Rehder

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, said she believes the state should recover some of the millions of dollars in revenue that go to tax-credit programs. She said she opposed the sales-tax measure.

Rehder said she would prefer toll roads or other public-private partnerships to help fund Missouri's transportation needs.

"I am all for a user fee," she said.

The legislative talk of how to better fund Missouri's roads and bridges comes as the Missouri Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association (MPCA) and its allies have begun collecting signatures on an initiative petition for a ballot measure that would raise taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products to help fund transportation needs.

The proposal would raise the cigarette tax by 135 percent and place a 50 percent tax increase on other tobacco products.

Ronald Leone, executive director of MPCA, said the measure would generate nearly $100 million per year in new revenue to repair and replace Missouri's "dangerous roads and bridges."

But Rehder questioned how much legislative support there would be for such a proposal.

Besides transportation, area lawmakers have set their focus on a wide range of issues.

Wallingford favors tort reform, saying it's needed to protect businesses from frivolous lawsuits.

"We want to make it a business-friendly state," he said.

The state senator also wants to cut taxes for military personnel.

Swan has filed a number of bills, including one that would require high-school students to pass a civics test to graduate. The test would be patterned after the exam immigrants take to become citizens.

She said too many people have little knowledge of what it means to be an American citizen.

Swan also wants the Legislature to look at Missouri's tax credit programs. The Legislature has little say over the issuance of such tax credits, which can affect the state's budget.

One of Swan's bills would require any pain-management clinic not associated with a hospital to be owned by a doctor who is board-certified in pain management. The goal, she said, is prevent the operation of "pill mills" that provide an easy way for people to obtain and abuse prescription medication.

As for Rehder, she continues to clamor for passage of a right-to-work law. She said most of Missouri's neighboring states are right-to-work states.

"We are seeing an economic boon in other states that have passed it," she said.

She also advocates "paycheck protection" legislation and wants lawmakers to establish a prescription drug monitoring program. The "paycheck protection" bill would require annual permission from public employees before union dues could be collected from their paychecks.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has thwarted past efforts to enact a right-to-work measure and likely would veto any such legislation again. For that reason, Wallingford said he would prefer the Legislature steer clear of that issue in the coming session.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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