RUST COMMENTARY: MUCH MORE INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT HIGHWAY PROPOSALS

Communications gaps are too often caused by fear of facts that might challenge one's opinion.

Since any tax increase of $50 million or over must ultimately be passed by Missouri voters ... sooner or later some questions about the proposed 1-cent sales tax for "total transportation" need to be answered before the voters -- urban and rural -- choose up sides.

1. The 1-cent sales tax would generate an estimated $575 million the first year (the biggest tax increase in our states history) and over $1 billion per year by its 15th year.

2. The need for additional funding is said to be because of the alleged $14 billion shortfall (over the next 12 years) of the highway funds bill which promised numerous projects over a 15-year span.

But not so fast. Recently disclosed information (which was not discussed by the appointed commission) claims NO shortfall of such numbers.

Since there had been no recent cost increases in highway construction, the 6-cent gas tax increase of three years ago budgeted no inflation increases other than 1.7 percent for administration and payroll costs. Also ... current revenue generated by the tax is exceeding the original projections.

A maintenance factor for the highway system had a mathematical error that provided only three years of current highway maintenance costs (primarily for asphalt overlays) but omitted the last 12 years of the 15-year plan passed in 1992. The highway commission was already addressing this $2 billion shortfall by improving "just in time" warehouse, parts and inventory costs of operation.

3. Cities and counties have relied upon sales tax revenue for their bridge, highway and roadway needs. If St. Louis, Kansas City and other urban areas need more money for their light rail and other transportation needs (Lambert Field?), why wouldn't they prefer to keep all of the sales-tax revenue generated in their areas (including revenue from out-of-state and rural Missouri shoppers) than turn in the money to the state where they've allegedly been receiving only 30 percent of the total transportation tax revenues.

In fact St. Louis Mayor CLARENCE HARMON and St. Louis County Executive "BUZZ" WESTFALL are moving to put a vote to double the Metrolink sales tax on the Nov. 4 ballot to a half-cent from a quarter-cent, which they hope would NOT be necessary. If the statewide 1-cent tax was passed. Do we sense possible diversion of state money from highways to light rail in the St. Louis area.

4. One can anticipate a constitutional challenge would be made for revenue diverted from the mandated bridge and roadway use to other transportation modes. The Missouri Constitution states in Article IV, Section 30 (b): SOURCE AND APPLICATION OF STATE ROAD FUND AND STATE TRANSPORTATION FUND:"For the purpose of constructing and maintaining an adequate system of connected state highways all state revenue derived from highway users as an incident to their use or right to use the highways of the state, including all state license fees and taxes upon motor vehicles, trailers and motor vehicle fuels, and upon, with respect to, or on the privilege of the manufacture, receipt, storage, distribution, sale or use thereof (excepting the sales tax on motor vehicles and trailers, except as hereinafter provided, and all property taxes), less the cost (1) of collection thereof, (2) of maintaining the highway related activities of the highways and transportation commission and department including any workers' compensation and retirement programs, (3) and of administering and enforcing any state motor vehicle laws or traffic regulations, and less refunds and that portion of the fuel tax revenue to be allocated to counties and to cities, towns and villages under Section 30 (a) of Article IV of this Constitution, shall be credited to the state road fund and stand appropriated without legislative action for the following purposes, and no other: (List follows). However, Section 30 (c) states: The highways and transportation commission "shall have authority to locate, relocate, establish, acquire, construct, maintain, control, and as provided by law to operate, develop or fund public facilities as part of any state transportation program such as but not limited to aviation, mass transportation, railroads, ports, and waterborne commerce, PROVIDED THAT FUNDS OTHER THAN THOSE DESIGNATED FOR HIGHWAY PURPOSES IN THIS CONSTITUTION ARE MADE AVAILABLE FOR SUCH PURPOSES."5. Former state highway commissioner JOHN OLIVER of Cape Girardeau claims there is no new information in the general commission report (other than proposed new funding) than in the studies made by the six-member highway commission earlier. We are analyzing the two, along with the Associated Press and hopefully other state media, which have not done a good early reporting job on the facts of this.

A summary of the 34-member Total Transportation Commission recommendations (final vote: 27-3) was slow to be finalized for what appears to me to have been more related to political timing than fact finding. The original deadline was to have been December 1996. The report was then anticipated by early March so the Missouri Legislature could still take action. It was finally released after the recent session was over (with earlier rumors of a special session to be called this fall ... which GOV. MEL CARNAHAN now admits he is considering). The commission's recommendation is that Missouri sales tax would be increased 1 cent to help pay for road, Metrolink expansion and other transportation projects (according to a Mei-Ling Hopwood report in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The current Missouri sales tax rate is 4.225 percent, ranking 35th among states.

Commission chairman S. LEE KLING says that the projected $17 billion needed for transportation needs over the next 20 years can best be reached by a sales tax. He said it would take a gasoline tax increase of up to 30 cents a gallon to raise as much as a 1-cent sales tax increase.

The commission estimates that 84 percent of the need, or $13.8 billion, is for roads. About $2 billion -- or about 13 percent -- would go for extending Metrolink in St. Louis, building a light-rail system in Kansas City and other, smaller main transit projects.

The rest of the money would go for improving airports, ports and freight and passenger rail systems (according to Hopgood).This issue needs an honest public information program or a NO VOTE if some think that an uninformed public will vote YES on the basis of spinned public relations or an urban-vs.-rural campaign.

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There are two forms of evil. One is the actual perpetrator. The second, and somehow I think more egregious, are the people who stand by and say nothing. They are cowards. They are the fertilizer, the water, the sun of evil, to let it grow. -- Dr. Laura Schleslinger

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EPA's proposed clean-air regulations also have a long way to go despite winning backing from Clinton recently. Mayors, governors and business leaders remain fiercely opposed and will fight to the end. Even Clinton is concerned that the rules may dampen growth and hurt jobs. Before endorsing them, he got EPA to delay implementing them for years and insisted that local officials get more flexibility on how to comply.

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A call from an Arkansas publisher the other day led to a multi-subject discussion. One of the topics was the oft-repeated notion that there is "more bad news than good news" in the newspapers.

Of course there would have to be some agreements on what constitutes each of these categories. For instance, is a fire story in which everyone got out alive a good or bad news story? The same for an automobile accident. Is a story about a city council meeting at which virtually nothing of any significance happened a good news story (because they didn't do any harm) or a bad news story (because they didn't do anything)?In virtually every case I have heard about this sort of study being conducted, more often than not the good news far surpasses the bad news. Try it on your newspaper. -- C. Dennis Schick, Arkansas Press Association executive directorGary Rust is president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian and other newspapers.