Senate committee approves fuel tax increase - Columbia Daily Tribune | Columbia Missouri: Politics

Headlines are quick hits from media outlets from Missouri and around the world. Follow the headline link for the full story. The source of this headline says:

A plan to increase taxes on gasoline and diesel sailed through a Senate committee Wednesday with one Democrat dissenting.

The bill to add 1.5 cents per gallon to the tax on gas and 3.5 cents per gallon to the tax on diesel would yield $55.8 million annually for state roads and $23.8 million annually for roads maintained by cities and counties. Sponsored by Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, the bill was approved 6-0 in the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee, with Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadal, D-St. Louis, voting present.

Chapelle-Nadal said after the vote that she is leaning against the bill but will seek to leverage her support for a better deal on transportation funding for her constituents.

“I am really looking at how this legislation is going to benefit urban areas, specifically minority communities,” she said.

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Senate committee approves fuel tax increase - Columbia Daily Tribune | Columbia Missouri: Politics

MoBikeFed comment: The senate proposal increases funding for roads and highways but includes nothing for transit, bicycling, or walking.

Missouri is currently 48th of the 50 states in amount of funding going towards transit and put no state funds towards bicycling or walking.