Sen. Westfall outlines tax increase for highways

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri voters would be asked to raise their taxes by an estimated $436 million annually under legislation introduced Thursday by the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

The proposal by Sen. Morris Westfall, R-Halfway, marks a turning point in the lingering transportation debate. It is the largest tax increase that Westfall has embraced and is co-sponsored by both Republican and Democratic senators.

Yet some said the proposal still falls short of meeting the state's transportation needs.

Rep. Don Koller, D-Summersville, the House Transportation Committee chairman, said he plans to introduce legislation next week that asks voters to raise more than $1 billion in taxes annually for transportation.

Koller says Westfall's tax increase is too little; Westfall says Koller's is too large -- setting up a conflict that could force a compromise or stall the issue for another year.

A $700 million transportation proposal passed the House last year but was whittled down and ultimately failed in the Senate.

Westfall's proposal would raise the state motor fuel tax to 22 cents a gallon from the current 17 cents and would raise the 4.225 percent state sales tax by three-eighths of a percent.

Most of the fuel tax money would go to state roads, with part going to city and county roads.

The sales tax increase is largely intended to offset the diversion of existing fuel tax revenues away from other state agencies to the Department of Transportation. But 20 percent of the new sales tax revenues would go to other modes of transportation, such as light rail, buses or river ports.

The sales tax increase would raise $240 million annually. The fuel tax increase is estimated to raise $196 million.

The Department of Transportation has said it would take another $1 billion annually to meet all of Missouri's transportation needs.

Westfall said his legislation "wouldn't totally solve the (transportation) problem ... but it gives them the opportunity to move forward and make some improvements."

His proposal is co-sponsored by Sen. John Russell, R-Lebanon, who also has been skeptical of raising taxes for transportation, as well as Sens. Danny Staples, D-Eminence, and Wayne Goode, D-St. Louis. Staples and Goode both have advocated larger tax increases in the past.

"Part of the reason I am signing onto the bill is to demonstrate that I think there is a need, and I'm willing to speak up for it in hopes the people will adopt something, if not this year, next year or sometime," Russell said.

Westfall and Russell both said that Koller's $1 billion proposal would never fly with voters. Westfall said anything over $600 million is too large.

Koller, on the other hand, said he couldn't support anything less than $650 million. But he added: "I think we're close enough that, without some snags, we can come to some kind of agreement."

Koller said his proposal would raise the gas tax by 4 cents a gallon, the state sales tax by 1 percent, the cigarette and alcohol tax by 1 percent and all vehicle registration and driver's licenses fees by 10 percent. It's proceeds would go both to highways and other modes of transportation.

Still undecided, he said, is whether to include another one-quarter percent sales tax increase for construction projects at public schools.

Koller said the education and transportation issues could be marketed together as an infrastructure package.

The rival transportation bills also propose different election dates. Westfall proposes an August election while Koller proposes a November vote.