CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT 2: NOT THE TIME FOR TOLL ROADS; THE NEW FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION ACT HAS ALTERED THE NEED FOR THIS LEGISLATION

Paul Ebaugh is a former member of the Missouri Highway Commission. He resides in Cape Girardeau.

On November 3, there will be a constitutional amendment on the ballot to authorize toll roads for Missouri. The legislation proposing the amendment was passed by the legislature last year.

The specific provisions of the amendment include the following:

* A toll road authority is created to construct, maintain and operate toll roads and bridges.

* The state road fund can be used to fund only feasibility studies and other start-up costs for toll roads and bridges.

* The Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission (MHTC) is authorized to conduct feasibility studies for toll roads and bridges within the state and along or across state lines.

* The toll road authority is empowered to issue bonds to finance toll roads but the bonds are not a debt or liability of the state, MHTC or MHTD (Missouri Highway and Transportation Department). General revenue funds of the state can not be pledged or used to satisfy and toll facility bonds or other toll facility costs or expenditures.

* The revenue and expenditure for toll roads are exempted from the Hancock Amendment.

The toll road concept was one of several alternative financing methods for roads and bridges considered, in the past, by the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission.

However, the Commission decided at its September 11, 1992, meeting that because conditions have changed significantly since the legislature passed the proposed constitutional amendment, it is in the best interest of Missourians to oppose the amendment.

The new federal transportation act and recent state funding increase have altered the department's outlook in the past year. The department has a new 15-year construction plan and does not foresee a need for toll projects in the near future.