Missouri's 2016 fuel tax proposal gets first committee hearing - The Missouri Times

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The Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee heard a bill which again proposes the first gas tax increase since 1996.

Sen. Doug Libla’s SB 623, similar to 2015’s SB 540, would alter the gas tax by 1.5 cents per gallon on gasoline and 3.5 cents per gallon on diesel fuel. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has practically begged for increased funding the past few years, and Libla’s bill is expected to act as a vanguard piece of legislation in getting that funding to MoDOT.

“This is a problem that has occurred over the last 20 years because we have had our head in the sand,” Libla said. He noted that multiple factors had contributed to greater expenses and fewer revenues for MoDOT recently, including increased costs in road construction materials (which have increased more than 200 percent since the 1990s), inflation, and vehicles with better fuel mileage or those that use alternative fuels.

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Missouri's 2016 fuel tax proposal gets first committee hearing - The Missouri Times