Roads tax ready for statewide ballot

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A transportation tax ballot proposal moved through the General Assembly at full speed Friday and crossed the finish line about 45 minutes before the 6 p.m. mandatory deadline for adjournment.

The bill, which calls for a $511 million a year in new taxes for transportation, was a bipartisan compromise from earlier versions passed by each chamber of the legislature.

The Senate voted 26-6 to send the measure to the House of Representatives for final action. The House passed the bill 101-50.

In all, it took the chambers just over two hours combined to finish the measure -- a lightning fast pace by legislative standards for what is often a controversial issue.

The measure, which bypasses Gov. Bob Holden, will go on the Aug. 6 statewide ballot.

While conceding the proposal isn't perfect, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, says it finally gives lawmakers, after years of trying, "the opportunity to put before the people a carefully crafted plan that has a chance to pass."

The compromise's half-billion dollar tax component is slightly higher than the original Senate plan, but $130 million less than the House version.

It calls for a one-half cent sales tax increase and raising the state fuel tax by 4 cents per gallon. The taxes would expire in 2012 unless re-authorized by voters.

The bill's House handler -- State Rep. Don Koller, D-Summersville -- said the sunset provision should mollify lawmakers and voters worried about the Department of Transportation's willingness to keep its promises and spend the money wisely.

"If they can't show us accountability, credibility and road construction in 10 years, I know what the people are going to do," Koller said.

The taxes would give MoDOT an additional $384.3 million a year for road and bridge construction and $63.6 million for other transportation modes, such as rail, ports, aviation and mass transit. Cities and counties would get a combined $56.9 million for local roads. Another $6.3 million would be set aside to promote ethanol and biodiesel production.

Fuel tax complaint

State Sen. David Klindt, R-Bethany, complained the bill was stripped of provisions that would have eliminated most of the so-called diversion of fuel tax revenue -- an estimated $190 million -- to state agencies other than the Department of Transportation. The lack of that safeguard to ensure that all fuel tax money goes to fix roads and bridges will hurt the plan's chances at the ballot box, Klindt said.

"It is not going to take a lot of opposition," Klindt said. "It will take just a few ads in local newspapers saying 'Here we go again.' ... It is not a good bill."

The bill would eliminate about $13 million of the diversion. However, the state Constitution requires that some fuel tax revenue go to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for enforcement of traffic laws and the Department of Revenue for the costs of collecting the tax. Those two agencies receive the bulk of the diverted money.

State Sen. Larry Rohrbach, R-California, decried the abandonment of relying solely on user fees, such as fuel taxes, to fund roads. People who don't drive, he said, will now be asked to help fund transportation through the sales tax.

However, fuel taxes alone wouldn't have raised the revenue needed to make a significant impact. The half-cent sales tax would generate an estimated $297.7 million. It would take another 7 cents of fuel tax to equal that amount.

MoDOT officials maintain they need at least $1 billion more a year to address all the state's transportation needs. That hefty sum was never a realistic option for lawmakers.

The bill is SB 915.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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