A St. Charles County lawmaker is calling for a special session to suspend Missouri’s gas tax through the end of the year.
Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, says drivers need relief now. She is urging Gov. Mike Kehoe to bring lawmakers back to Jefferson City to consider the plan.
“We’re going into a season where it’s vacation time and a lot of people will already be doing staycations,” Byrnes said. “We also are going into the holiday season and could have almost 50 cents back by the time you would combine the feds if they pass theirs and ours, which is at 29.5.”
Under the proposal, Missouri’s 29.5-cent-per-gallon gas tax would be suspended through Dec. 31, with state funding used to keep road and bridge projects intact.
Byrnes told Missourinet that the plan would pause the tax for seven months, a move expected to cost about $713 million. She argues the state has the resources to offset that loss.
“We have plenty of money in general revenue, but MoDOT also has reserves as well,” Byrnes said. “I would say let’s go ahead and let MoDOT keep those reserves and let’s backfill that with general revenue.”
She points to roughly $1.65 billion in transportation reserves and nearly $5 billion in general revenue that has gone toward road projects in recent years as evidence the state can absorb the cost without affecting infrastructure.
Byrnes is also pushing for quick action, suggesting lawmakers could take up the issue during a potential return to the Capitol later this month.
“We have a great opportunity May 28th,” Byrnes said. “We get a daily stipend. A lot of people are gonna use that opportunity of that stipend to clean out their offices. So, if we’re going to be paid to be down there, we might as well have a special session and make that money count for our taxpayers.”
Byrnes says the temporary suspension could save families up to $69 a month at the pump.
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