OLIVER: ROAD PANEL PUSHING MASS TRANSIT; WANTS TO `STEAL' GAS TAS FUNDS, HE SAYS

Missouri's Total Transportation Commission has set the stage for a political move to "steal" gasoline tax money to fund mass transit projects in the state, a former member of the state's Highways and Transportation Commission charged Wednesday.

The head of the Total Transportation group denied the allegation.

Former highway commissioner and Cape Girardeau lawyer John Oliver Jr. said the Total Transportation Commission is part of a political move designed to take over functions of the highway commission as the first step in diverting gas tax money away from road projects.

The state constitution restricts the use of gas tax money to road and bridge projects. Mass transit projects can't be funded with state gas tax money, he said.

He said neither former governor John Ashcroft nor current Gov. Mel Carnahan has been willing to ask lawmakers or voters to approve a tax just for mass transit for fear it would be defeated.

Oliver said the development of a new statewide transportation plan that calls for a 1-cent sales tax hike sheds no new light on transportation needs and wasted taxpayers' money.

The Total Transportation Commission adopted the plan Wednesday.

Oliver said Missouri already has a statewide transportation plan that was developed when he served on the Highway and Transportation Commission.

He served six years on the commission. His term ended in 1995.

The state has spent more than $600,000 on consultants to draft the new transportation plan. The cost includes $555,000 paid to the main consultants, who recently recommended a tax hike to fund mass transit and other transportation projects.

"The politicians of the state of Missouri have deprived the motoring public of $555,000 worth of needed road improvements in the state," said Oliver.

He said the new report doesn't offer a single valid suggestion that wasn't discussed in the earlier Department of Transportation report prepared by a consulting firm.

"This is an insult," Oliver said of the Total Transportation Commission plan. The advisory group was appointed last year by Carnahan.

Consultants for the Total Transportation Commission have projected a $14 billion shortfall in funding for the state's current 15-year road improvements plan.

But Oliver said the state doesn't face a $14 billion shortfall. "There is nothing wrong with the 15-year plan," he said.

Oliver accused Carnahan and the Total Transportation Commission of playing politics.

He also said four of the six members of the state highway commission have been appointed by Carnahan, who has served as governor since January 1993.

The four include S. Lee Kling of St. Louis, who chairs the Total Transportation Commission.

"Kling is the primary political animal on this new committee," Oliver said.

Kling responded later in the day. He denied the accusation that he and others were playing politics with the Total Transportation Commission.

"I think this commission has been very, very open," he said.

The Total Transportation report recommends passage of a sales tax to help fund transportation projects, including mass transit projects.

None of the state's gas-tax money would be used for mass transit projects, Kling said.

Former state highway official Wayne Muri said Missouri could use federal highway funds for mass transit projects. But Muri doesn't like the idea.

He said such a move would leave less money to spend on the road improvements outlined in the 15-year plan and further delay completing the promised projects.

The federal and state money for transportation projects all goes into the same pot, said Muri, who headed the Transportation Department from 1986 to 1994.

Federal money funds a large share of the construction work, he said.

"It is not a question of need," said Muri. "It is always a question of priority: Where are you going to put the money?"

House Speaker Steve Gaw believes there is a funding shortfall for transportation projects.

But the Moberly Democrat said he doesn't believe the Legislature will vote to put the tax measure on the ballot unless there is grassroots support for it.

Gaw said the Legislature has less control over the Transportation Department than other state agencies. The department is governed by the highway commission.

Any new funding for the department should be tied to greater accountability, he said.

Oliver said Gaw and other lawmakers want to exert greater political power over the Transportation Department.