House passes broad roads bill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Positioning itself for a compromise with the Senate, the House passed a broad transportation plan Wednesday that would ask voters to enact about $640 million in new sales and fuel taxes.

At the heart of the bill is a three-quarter-cent increase in the state's 4.225 percent sales tax and a 3-cent increase in Missouri's 17-cent gasoline and diesel tax.

The House proposal is intended to counter a Senate transportation bill that would generate nearly $500 million through an additional three-eighth-cent sales tax and 6-cent fuel tax.

Representatives passed their bill 88-68 after the Democratic majority flexed its muscle and ended a seven-hour, amendment-filled debate.

Negotiators from the House and Senate are expected to work on a compromise that would require a vote in each chamber by May 17.

Major fund-raising provisions agreed to by negotiators would be placed before voters later this year -- either in August or November. Other changes to transportation-related laws could be rolled into a separate bill that could be enacted upon the signature of Gov. Bob Holden.

Provisions in both the Senate and House versions include the permanent extension of a 6-cent motor fuel tax enacted in 1992. That tax is scheduled to expire April 1, 2008.

Both chambers' bills also would raise fees for billboard owners and increase the minimum distance between new and existing billboards to 1,000 feet from the current 500 feet.

When the two chambers both pass a provision, it usually is included in the final version of the legislation. Negotiators typically focus on differences.

With the hope of raising as many issues as possible for conferees, House sponsor Don Koller, D-Summersville, substituted his own plan for the previously passed Senate bill. The House then approved a couple of dozen amendments.

Among the House provisions are higher fees for commercial driver's license examinations and higher handling fees for the application or renewal of all vehicle licenses.

The House bill also allows the transportation commission to issue between $150 million and $250 million in bonds annually from 2007 through 2022, and requires the governor to appoint commissioners from a list supplied by legislators.