A proposed constitutional amendment has been filed in the Missouri Senate that would create a temporary one-cent sales tax to fund highway improvements and other transportation needs. The tax would not be levied on fuel, groceries or prescription drugs, and would expire after 10 years.
Supporters say it would not authorize any toll roads, and it would create around 270-thousand jobs.
Senator Ryan McKenna of Jefferson County is one of the measure’s co-sponsors. He says there are three highways in his district that bear the nicknames “Blood Alley” and “Death Valley” – State Highway 21 and lettered routes MM and W.
“A friend of mine, Chris Foley, that lived down the road from me, was killed on Highway MM about 10, 12 years ago,” McKenna said. “That’s when I started really trying to get involved with Highway MM and W, to try to get safety improvements along that stretch of road.”
McKenna and other backers say that 10 percent of the money raised by the sales tax would go to city and county governments for local transportation needs.
GOP Senator Mike Kehoe of Jefferson City co-sponsored the measure.
“As a legislative body, we’ll not raise the gas tax, we’ll not toll existing roads,” Kehoe said “MoDOT’s done their part. They’ve tightened their belt to make sure the department is running as efficiently as it possibly can, and now I think it’s our turn.”
If passed, the measure would go before Missouri voters in 2014.
