A Missouri motor fuel tax is up for discussion again, only months after voters rejected it. Proposition D proposed a 10-cent increase in the motor fuel tax over four years, but did not pass last November. Thursday, the Senate heard a similar bill–and this time it wouldn’t be up to the voters.
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Doug Libla, said in a hearing on Thursday that the state has a duty to take care of its roads and bridges. He declared the bill an “emergency act,” meaning it would go into effect if passed in this legislative session.
Libla said he thinks Missouri voters rejected Proposition D because the bill was difficult for them to understand.
“I don't think the citizens of Missouri want worse roads. Everybody always says, ‘well I don't know if the citizens of Missouri...they all want really good roads.’ Well I don't know if they do or not because they turned down that ballot issue last year which was convoluted and hard to understand.”
Currently, the motor fuel tax is at 17 cents per gallon and has not been increased since 1996.
Libla’s bill would gradually increase the tax to 23 cents per gallon in two set increments. After the third year, the tax would continue to be adjusted annually for inflation.