Senate Committee To Decide On Revenue Generating Bills

Members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee will meet today to decide which, if any, of the revenue generating bills given hearings will be sent to the floor of the Senate for further discussion. Wednesday’shearing of the Committee featured testimony on a series of bills, including Governor Bob Holden’s proposal for the Legislature to allow a vote of the people on raising the cigarette tax by 55-cents a pack. It also heard testimony on a bill that included a proposal to de-couple Missouri’s income tax system from the federal tax rates. It heard from another calling for elimination of what the Governor has called business tax loopholes. The Committee willvote up or down on the various proposals prior to the start of a full session of the Senate today.