Missouri legislator Rehder talks gas tax, foster care in Scott City Chamber appearance

State Sen. Holly Thompson Rehder of Scott City (R-27) had the recent hike in Missouri's gasoline tax on her mind during remarks Thursday to the Scott City Area Chamber of Commerce's monthly morning coffee meeting.

Rehder was among the minority of Show Me State lawmakers in voting against the tax increase in May.

The first-term senator reminded attendees at Front Porch Rental Hall of her opposition to the bill while providing information on how to get promised tax rebates from the state.

"Keep saving your gas tax receipts. Refund forms aren't ready yet but by July, you can request that rebate," said Rehder, who succeeded term-limited Wayne Wallingford in January.

Rehder noted a member of her staff has spent $475 to-date buying 154 gallons of gas and will realize a refund of $3.87.

"That's not much, granted, but if businesses will keep their receipts, the refund will add up over time and will be significant."

The Republican-led General Assembly, in approving Missouri's first gas tax hike in 25 years, expects the state to raise hundreds of millions in new dollars to fix roads and bridges.

The law raised Missouri's 17-cent-a-gallon gas tax -- among the lowest in the nation -- by 2.5 cents Oct. 1. The tax will gradually rise until July 2025 when the levy reaches 29.5 cents per gallon -- putting Missouri's gas tax rate closer to the national average for states.

Missouri's rebate provision is modeled after one approved earlier in South Carolina. The measure also increased electric vehicle (EV) fees by 20% annually for five years, with fees varying depending on the size of the cars.

Rehder noted her check of gasoline prices showed the average price of a gallon of gas a year ago was $1.76 and rose recently to $3.09.

"That's unreal," she said. "Gas prices haven't been this high since 2014."

Foster care

Rehder, who was named earlier this week as acting chairwoman of the Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect -- made up of 14 members of the state House and Senate -- bemoaned computer errors causing the state temporarily to lose track of 1,000 foster care children.

"This was eye-opening," Rehder said, noting one estimate to upgrade the state's software to correct the problem will cost $90,000 and take six months to implement.

"We have to know where these kids are and we have to get this problem fixed," she added, saying she is hopeful the issue can be resolved in a short amount of time.

Rehder said Missouri currently has 14,000 children in its foster care system.