Legislation has been filed in the Missouri Senate that would create a temporary sales tax dedicated to funding transportation needs statewide.
The proposed constitutional amendment would create a one-cent sales tax that would expire after 10 years. It’s co-sponsored by GOP Senator Mike Kehoe of Jefferson City. He says the one-penny tax would not be levied on groceries, prescription medicine or fuel.
“As a legislative body, we’ll not raise the gas tax, we’ll not toll existing roads. MoDOT’s done their part – they’ve tightened their belt to make sure the department is running as efficiently as it possibly can, and now I think it’s our turn,” says Kehoe.
Most of the money raised would go to state needs, but 10 percent would go to cities and counties for local transportation needs. If passed, the measure would go before Missouri voters in 2014.