$8 billion Missouri Transportation Funding Proposal: What's next?

The St. Louis Beacon recently published an article outlining support, opposition, and alternatives for the proposed $8 billion Missouri transportation funding proposal that was narrowly defeated during the final week of the Missouri legislative session in May. 

Waiting for MODOT

The proposal would, for the first time, fully and equally include bicycling, walking, transit, and other transportation options in Missouri's transportation funding mechanism, alongside and on equal footing with funding for roads and highways.

The article summarizes likely next steps for the transportation funding proposal:

Despite its legislative death, it’s widely expected that the transportation tax will come back next year. When he spoke to the St. Louis Regional Chamber last week, Gov. Jay Nixon endorsed some sort of transportation funding.

Nixon though wasn't specific about what type of funding mechanism he supported.

“Maybe this is a blessing in disguise to take a step back, figuring out the right solution and then going forward with that," LeVota said.

Lamping suggested raising the sales tax by a smaller amount and lowering personal income tax rate. That, he said, would be "Hancock neutral" and wouldn't require a public vote.

Blouin suggested removing a sales tax exemption for trucks, which she noted cause wear and tear on the state’s roads. She also said it might be wise to add in an Earned Income Tax Credit into the proposal to offset the tax's impact on the poor. . . .

Asked about an earned income tax credit, Kehoe said this month that “the coalition that we have in support of what you saw move forward – and I said this a million times – is fragile.”

Kehoe said, “The bill the way it was fine-tuned is the best we can get and still keep as many people on board as possible.”

While Kehoe said it's likely groups will be looking to get the issue before voters through an initiative petition, but he would have preferred to move it forward through the legislature. And like Keaveny, he said the plan's demise was a missed opportunity.

"It’s not frustrating because I want to impose a tax on people," Kehoe said. "It’s frustrating because I believe elected officials should allow their constituents on this big of an issue to vote. Let them vote on it. That’s all I want people to be able to do."

We're hearing that the initiative petition language for the transportation funding proposal has now been filed with the Missouri Secretary of State.  Next step will be for groups supporting the initiative petition to secure the necessary citizen signatures to place it on the ballot.

Stay tune for more information as soon as we know it!

Photo credit: Waiting for MoDOT by Zaskem, FlickR. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0