Missouri lawmakers are locked in debate over a bill that would raise fuel taxes by two cents.
A bill introduced in the state Senate would raise Missouri’s fuel tax two cents next year.
Some legislators are pushing back against paying more at the pump in Missouri, which has one of the lowest fuel taxes in the country. The state’s current fuel tax of 17 cents hasn’t changed in nearly 20 years. The state needs more funding to maintain roads and bridges and develop new projects, but more worrisome is the threat that Missouri could lose its matching federal transportation funds if the state’s Department of Transportation doesn’t raise enough revenue.
MoDOT Chairman Stephen Miller said in a statement that it would take a 6-cent increase to close the projected $160 million budget gap. SB 540 would raise the fuel tax two cents by 2016. Each one-cent increase brings in $39 million per year in revenue, and the MoDOT receives 70 percent, or $27 million.
Compared to many surrounding states, Missouri has a relatively low gas tax that has enabled small business growth.
Legislators are finding it difficult for the bill to get traction in the Senate. Some lawmakers have commented that it is unlikely the bill will find approval before the end of the legislative session on May 15, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In an op-ed to The Missouri Times, Senator Doug Libla, who is also chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, wrote that the bill was filibustered by Senators Rob Schaaf and Ed Emery, preventing a vote.
Sen. Schaff commented that he blocked the bill because it would raise taxes without voter approval.
“Which is more extreme: putting it to a vote of the people or forcing it down their throats?” he asked, according to the Post-Dispatch.
Sen. Libla says the bill is fair and would enable Missouri to meet its highway transportation funding needs.
“Since 1924 Missouri has funded its investment in highways through a fuel tax,” Sen. Libla wrote. “This is still the best, most reliable and fairest form of highway maintenance revenue because highway users pay it.”
Attempts to raise the fuel tax in Missouri have been unsuccessful in the past few years, as those in opposition raise concerns over higher costs for business and legislators who oppose raising taxes without voter approval.
NFIB has taken no position on the proposal at this time. The Missouri legislative session will adjourn May 15.
