Missouri business groups voice support for gas-tax hike

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- More than two dozen interest groups from across the political spectrum are backing a proposed increase to the state's fuel taxes, signaling bipartisan and private-sector support for what would be the first such hike in more than two decades that's aimed at repairing roads and bridges.

The proposal would raise Missouri's gasoline tax by 1.5 cents a gallon and diesel by 3.5 cents a gallon.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon already has voiced support for the measure, and legislative leaders say transportation funding will be a top priority this year.

Chambers of commerce, heavy construction and engineering trade groups and municipal and county government associations were among those who testified in favor of the legislation Wednesday at a Senate transportation committee hearing.

Some groups that would pay more under a gas-tax increase, such as the Missouri Trucking Association, say improving the state's roads are worth the cost.

Others, such as the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, say they support an even larger tax hike.

And policy analyst Joseph Miller with the Show-Me Institute, which generally opposes tax increases but supports this bill, called it a fairer way to pay for roads instead of a sales tax.

The last time Missouri raised its fuel tax was 1992, when lawmakers voted to gradually increase it to 17 cents per gallon. Inflation since has eroded the relative purchasing power of that tax to about 8 cents, said Sen. Doug Libla, the Poplar Bluff Republican who is chairman of the committee and sponsored the bill.

A small gas-tax increase might not solve the state's long-term needs, Libla said, but the alternative is continuing to do what legislators have done in the last two decades.

"We could put our heads back in the sand, expecting the problem to solve itself," he said.

Transportation officials say Missouri has the seventh-largest road system in the country but the fourth-lowest transportation spending per mile.

And businesses that might otherwise find Missouri's low gas taxes appealing could go elsewhere if it doesn't keep pace with other states' infrastructure investments, Department of Transportation Director Patrick McKenna said.

The Missouri Alliance for Freedom was the only group to oppose the bill, on the grounds it paves the way for incremental tax increases in the future.

Libla said the committee plans to vote on the bill next week. He filed a similar bill last year that passed out of committee but didn't make it out of the Senate.

House Speaker Todd Richardson has said Missouri needs to pay for roadwork without more taxes. Lawmakers also have proposed transferring some state roads to county governments for maintenance, diverting money from Missouri's sales tax and asking voters to raise the fuel tax through a constitutional amendment.

The House's transportation committee won't review proposals for transportation funding until February, said Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer, the Odessa Republican who is chairman of the committee.