Tour of Missouri

Len Toenjes, President of Associated General Contractors and a board member of Citizens for Modern Transit in St. Louis, wrote a recent editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that gives his take on what happened to the Missouri Transportation Funding Proposal that was recently defeated in the Missouri General Assembly by a few filibustering Senators, and where the proposal is headed in the future: 

The Missouri Legislature has once again failed to address the critical statewide transportation issue that is important for safety, economic development and the quality of life in our state. Success or failure of an important transportation bill on the final day of the 2013 legislative session hinged on the objections of fewer than five senators. These few individuals blocked the Senate from providing the citizens of Missouri with the opportunity to make a choice concerning their transportation future.

SJR 16, the historic Missouri transportation funding proposal that, for the first time EVER, built transportation options like bicycling, walking, transit, and passenger rail right into Missouri's transportation funding system, came to a final debate on the floor of the Missouri Senate today. 

Tuesday we reported that the Missouri House had approved a historic Missouri transportation funding plan that, for the first time ever, fully incorporates bicycling and walking into the state's transportation funding.  The Missouri Senate had approved the measure earlier this year, but after minor changes by the House, the measure needed to return to the Senate for final confirmation--usually a matter of form in that situation.  

If passed, the transportation funding measure would appear before voters in 2014. 

However, later Tuesday we reported that a small group of Missouri senators had filibustered SJR 16, stopping the bill in its tracks.

Since then, our members have been asking: Who is filibustering SJR 16 and why?

Who is filibustering SJR 16 and why?

It only takes two senators to filibuster legislation.  SJR 16 passed the Senate by a vote of 24-10.  The ten senators opposing the bill at that time:

Today bicycling, walking, and transit took another step towards being officially recognized in the Missouri Constitution and funded by Missouri transportation dollars. The Missouri House passed SJR 16 by a vote of 100-57.

This was the final major hurdle the bill faced.  The Senate must still ratify a few technical changes made in the House resolution, which (we are hearing) could happen as soon as later today. 

If passed by the Senate, the Missouri Transportation Funding proposal will come before Missouri voters in August or November 2014.  

UPDATE 14 May: A few senators are now filibustering SJR 16. SJR 16 was debated for several hours in the Senate on Tuesday evening, and then laid aside. The sponsor is planning to work with the filibustering Senators and he is still hopeful SJR 16 will come to a vote and be passed before the end of the legislative session Friday.

If the filibuster is successful and the resolution does not pass, a private group is likely to pick up the proposal, starting with the language the General Assembly has developed, and bring it forward as a referendum that will appear on the ballot within the next couple of years.

The proposal for $8 billion in funding for MoDOT and Missouri cities over the next ten years--to replace declining fuel tax dollars, which were last adjusted for inflation in the 1990s--has been passed by the Senate and is most likely to come to a vote of the Missouri House in the next couple of days.

The Bicycle Ban bill we have been discussing this legislative session has been filed by Representative Bart Korman of High Hill as HB 672. Co-sponsors are Representative Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Representative Jay Houghton of Martinsburg, and Representative David Wood of Versailles.

The full text of the bill as filed is below. Our Advocacy Alert on this issue has been updated to reflect the new circumstances.

Question and Answer Exchange between Korman & MoBikeFed regarding the Bicycle Ban at House Hearing, Feb 19th, 2013

For years we have been telling our policy leaders that Missourians walk and bicycle less than we should because we have far less safe places for bicycling and walking than we should. 

With $8 billion in Missouri transportation funding currently at stake--$8 billion in funding that could make a huge difference in improving the environment for Missourians to bicycle and walk with safety and convenience--it is important that we have solid data behind our argument.