Initiative to fund roads posed

LAKE OZARK, Mo. -- Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder on Thursday said an initiative petition is "in the works" to put the controversial issue of transportation funding before voters in November 2002.

"Transportation is a vexing problem for our state," Kinder said. "You are beginning to hear serious talk about the possibility of putting an initiative petition in the field next year."

Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said enlisting the support of the Missouri Farm Bureau would be vital to the success of such an effort. The Farm Bureau helped block a bill pushed by Democratic Gov. Bob Holden this year in the General Assembly to put a transportation tax package before voters.

"If Farm Bureau is on board, it could be the way to go," Kinder said.

Seminar on issues

Kinder and other state officials and lawmakers commented on the issue during a seminar on legislative issues sponsored by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce.

During the 2001 legislative session, the majority Democrats in the House passed legislation calling for $747 million a year in new tax and fee hikes for transportation. However, the measure died in the Senate where Republicans are in control.

House Minority Floor Leader Catherine Hanaway, R-Warson Woods, said the amount of new taxes called for by the House bill would never have won voter approval.

"If we put something on the ballot and the people said no, I think it would be at least five years before we could try again," Hanaway said.

A coalition of transportation stakeholders putting a tax measure before voters via petition and bypassing the Legislature, which has been unable to reach consensus on the issue, could be the way to go, Hanaway said.

"Probably the most likely way we will end up with something on the ballot is the initiative petition process," Hanaway said.

Henry Hungerbeeler, the director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, repeated his mantra that MoDOT needs at least $1 billion a year in additional revenue to fix all of the state's road problems, and even more to address other transportation modes.

Citing a Triple A study, Hungerbeeler said it costs drivers 51 cents a mile to operate a vehicle on Missouri roads, with MoDOT receiving less than 1 cent of that money. Better roads would reduce accidents and vehicle damage caused by driving conditions, thereby reducing the cost of automobile insurance and maintenance, he said.

"Economically speaking, we could lower our cost of operating a car if MoDOT had the money it needs to fix roads," Hungerbeeler said.

The longer the state waits to take action, the more expensive rebuilding roads will get, he said.

Degree of urgency

"There is a degree of urgency about doing something," Hungerbeeler said. "We can't continue to kick this can."

State Sen. Morris Westfall, R-Halfway, said there is no question the state's highway system has significant problems. The debate rages over how to pay for it. Westfall, as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, helped defeat the governor's transportation package.

Though many lawmakers, especially Republicans, have said additional money for transportation should be found in the existing state budget, Westfall said there isn't enough existing revenue available to make a difference.

"To find the kind of money to help us in transportation -- it's just not there," Westfall said. "Even if you found the money, the lobbying pressure from other interests is such that I don't think you'd get the money to transportation."

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