Governor Jay Nixon (D) supports increasing Missouri’s gas tax to help pay for Missouri’s infrastructure, but he’s not a fan of the proposal that passed out of the Senate last week. The bill would ask voters if Missouri’s gas tax should be increased by nearly 6-cents per gallon.
“If I was to order what we should get done, I think the original version of Senator [Doug] Libla’s bill was something that would have made a short term but important step forward. I thought especially with gas prices were they were and are, that would’ve been a doable,” said Nixon.
Libla’s original bill called for an increase of 1.5-cents for unleaded and 3.5-cents per gallon for diesel. He says the Legislature’s failure to find a transportation funding fix led him to propose a greater increase.
Libla’s newer version is headed to the House where leadership is less favorable to increasing taxes to help pay for roads and bridges.
“Let’s get something done while the prices are low and let’s get a couple of cents and let’s start moving forward,” said Nixon. “I’d like to see us do something that we can get done and get done quickly that would have a small but incremental effect.”
Lawmakers are also considering reinstating a cost-sharing program that would create a partnership between state and local governments to split the cost of infrastructure projects.