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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for transportation sales tax

Gov. Nixon sets 5 proposed constitutional amendments for August primary ballot

May 23, 2014 By Mike Lear

Governor Jay Nixon (D) has set August 5 as the date for several proposed changes to Missouri’s Constitution, including the three-fourths of one cent sales tax to support transportation that was adopted by the legislature this year. Three other proposed amendments will appear on the November 4 ballot.

The issues Nixon has put on the August 5 ballot are:

  • House Joint Resolution No. 11, passed by the General Assembly in 2013, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include language forever guaranteeing the right of farmers and ranchers to engage in agricultural production and ranching practices.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 48, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to direct the state lottery commission to develop and begin selling a ‘Veterans Lottery Ticket’, from which all net proceeds would be deposited into the Missouri Veterans’ Commission’s capital improvement trust fund.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 68, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to enact an additional sales tax to fund infrastructure projects including highways and roads.
  • Senate Joint Resolution No. 27, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include language stating that people shall be secure in their electronic communications and data from unreasonable searches and seizures as they are now likewise secure in their persons, homes, papers and effects.
  • Senate Joint Resolution No. 36, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include a declaration that the right to keep and bear arms is an unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right.

That leaves on the November 4 ballot:

  • House Joint Resolution No. 16, passed by the General Assembly in 2013, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to allow relevant evidence of prior criminal acts to be admissible in prosecutions for crimes of a sexual nature involving a victim under eighteen years of age.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 72, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to include language relating to a governor’s fiscal management authority.
  • House Joint Resolution No. 90, passed by the General Assembly in 2014, proposes amending the Missouri Constitution to permit voting in person or by mail for a period of six business days prior to and including the Wednesday before the Election Day in all general elections.

Two other issues are still pending certification for the November ballot.

 See the release from Nixon’s office

Filed Under: Elections, News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: early voting, gun rights, Jay Nixon, right to farm, transportation sales tax

How they voted: House on sales tax increase for transportation

May 14, 2014 By Mike Lear

The state House has completed the legislature’s vote to ask Missourians whether they want to increase the sales tax by three-quarters of a percent to support transportation.  Because the proposal has already cleared the Senate, it will go on the ballot in November unless Governor Jay Nixon (D) sets a special election date for it.

How they voted - transportation tax 05-14-2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to see who your state representative is using the search tool on the House’s homepage

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Dave Hinson, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri House of Representatives, transportation sales tax

House Democrats want Medicaid expansion vote before they’ll vote for transportation sales tax hike

May 9, 2014 By Mike Lear

The Missouri House Democrats’ leader says they’re angry about the veto override on a tax cut bill, so much so that they won’t vote for a proposed sales tax hike to support transportation if the Republican House Majority doesn’t bring Medicaid expansion up for a vote.

The situation raises doubt about the fate of the three-quarters-of-a-cent transportation tax that had seemed likely to pass.

The House on Tuesday completed a legislative override of Governor Jay Nixon’s (D) veto of the tax cut legislation, SB 509, that he and House Democrats said was unnecessary and “dangerous,” and puts funding for state programs and services like education in jeopardy. All 108 Republicans in the House voted for the override along with one Democrat, Keith English (Florissant).

“I think right now the caucus feels that it’s awfully hypocritical to be asking for a tax increase when we’ve just cut taxes,” says Minority Floor Leader Jake Hummel (D-St. Louis).

34 House Democrats voted for the transportation tax, HJR 68, when it cleared the House, while 38 Republicans voted against it.

“They have to have our votes to pass it,” says Hummel. “If they’d like to give us a vote on Medicaid maybe we can talk about that.”

Hummel says it is time for Medicaid expansion to be brought to a vote on the House Floor. Last year a bill was debated in the House but withdrawn without a vote.

“If the majority [Republicans want] to vote it down that’s fine, but give us the opportunity,” says Hummel. “This is such a huge coalition across the state. Just give us … give everybody … a chance. Give them a vote. What are [Republicans] worried about? That they don’t have enough people to vote it down?”

House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) says he had not heard of the Democrats drawing the connection between the transportation sales tax and Medicaid prior to speaking to Missourinet.

“I don’t really see the connectivity between the two,” says Jones, “My gut reaction would be the caucus would not be much interested in a deal of that sort.”

If Republican leadership decides to put Medicaid expansion to a vote, there are some bills that could be potential vehicles for it. Two Senate bills, SB 504 and SB 754, are on the list of Senate Bills ready to be passed out of the House that relate to health care or insurance coverage. Those could potentially have Medicaid language amended to them before a vote.

Another bill, SB 524, was amended in a House Committee to include Medicaid expansion language in an effort led by Representative Chris Molendorp (R-Belton), who has been supportive of expansion. His position has put him at odds with most of his fellow Republicans. Molendorp called the vote, “symbolic,” but the bill could be brought to the floor in the final week.

“It’s that time of year when there are a lot of issues that aren’t related at all that kind of get thrown into the same pot for people to start picking and choosing … they’ll support this if you’ll support that,” says Senator Mike Kehoe (R-Jefferson City), the sponsor of the transportation sales tax bill in the Senate. “It doesn’t surprise me that there are people trying to tie one thing to another.”

Kehoe says he will spend time this weekend talking to legislators about moving the transportation tax forward.  It also has labor support, including from the Laborers Union of Missouri and the United Transportation Union, who testified for it during a House hearing in February.

Hummel says he knows there is union support for the tax, and a need for funding for infrastructure improvements.

“I don’t think a lot of us are happy at what the funding mechanism is for this,” says Hummel. “I’d love to get some kind of compromise between the tax and Medicaid, but just have to see how it goes.”

The proposal was to raise the sales tax one percent for transportation when it left the House but the Senate changed it to the three-quarters-of-a-cent plan.  If it is passed by the legislature it would go to voters in November or at a special election to be called by the governor.

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Jake Hummel, Medicaid expansion, Mike Kehoe, Missouri House of Representatives, Missouri State Senate, Tim Jones, transportation sales tax

Sponsor: House will try to pass three-fourths cent transportation sales tax

April 30, 2014 By Mike Lear

The House sponsor of a proposed sales tax increase to support transportation says he plans to take up the three-fourths-of-a-cent tax proposal passed by the Senate, and try to get it passed in the House.

Representative Dave Hinson (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Dave Hinson (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

If the House approves that proposal without any changes, it would go to voters in November or in a special election.

The three-fourths cent proposal would generate about $534-million annually. The House had passed a one-cent tax increase over ten years that was projected to generate about $800-million annually for various forms of transportation projects.

The proposal is HJR 68

Representative Dave Hinson (R-St. Clair) says three-quarters of a cent should be plenty for the Transportation Department.

“Three-quarters will get a lot of major projects done that are needed to be done across the state,” says Hinson. “Of course it will leave us about a billion dollars short of what we were hoping for, but you know in ten years the voters will get a chance to review what MODOT’s done and see if they want to continue it on.”

Hinson doesn’t think the three-fourths cent tax proposal will have any trouble being passed in the House.

“I think actually we may pick up some votes,” says Hinson. “We had 96 ‘yes’ votes when we third read it in the House and we’ll probably be, I would think, around 100.”

Majority Floor Leader John Diehl (R-Town and Country) says the House likely won’t take up the transportation tax issue again until the situation with a tax cut proposal, SB 509, has been settled. Governor Jay Nixon (D) is anticipated to veto that bill and the Republican legislative majority is expected to attempt to then override his veto.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Dave Hinson, Jay Nixon, John Diehl, Missouri Department of Transportation, transportation sales tax

Advocates rally opposition to exclusion of bicycling from transportation tax proposal

April 7, 2014 By Mike Lear

The Executive Director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation says a move to keep proceeds from a proposed transportation sales tax from going to bicycle paths was a “total blindside.”

During House debate of the proposed constitutional amendment, an amendment was offered that in part would pull the word “bicycle” from the forms of transportation the tax money could support.

Executive Director Brent Hugh says in meetings throughout the state Missourians have supported a comprehensive approach to transportation infrastructure improvements, including for bicycles.

He says the need for more transportation money in Missouri is clear and his group has been a part of a multi-year process to develop the transportation tax proposal.

“It’s like a punch to the gut,” says Hugh of the amendment, offered by Representative Paul Curtman (R-Pacific). He says it sends a message to his group of, “‘Well thanks for helping us all through here but now, you know, see ya.'”

Curtman says he doesn’t want language in the state Constitution that would allow Missouri tax dollars to support bicycle infrastructure.

The amendment earned rebuke from lawmakers who said pulling the word “bicycle” from the tax proposal would seal its defeat. Many legislators say roughly 40 percent of voters are expected to be opposed to any tax increase proposal, and losing the support of alternative transportation backers would cost enough votes to spell certain failure.

Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia) says the mounting of opposition by bicycle supporters started almost immediately.

“Monday is bike day at the Capitol,” notes Kelly, referring to the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation’s lobbying day. Support for bicycling in the transportation funding plan is one of the issues participants are urged to ask lawmakers to support during the day. A statement from the Federation is also urging citizens to contact representatives and voice opinions on social media about the issue.

See the other issue bicycle lobbiers are being asked to speak against to lawmakers

Kelly says he is only “barely supportive” of the transportation tax proposal, but he doesn’t like what he calls a “sneak attack” on bicycles.

“I don’t like that as the method,” says Kelly of Curtman’s amendment, “and I also don’t like the public policy of taking alternative transportation out of the package.”

Kelly offered a motion to divide Curtman’s amendment into two pieces so that lawmakers could vote on them separately. Debate of the transportation tax was then suspended, leaving the issue to be settled when it is taken back up. Majority Floor Leader John Diehl (R-Town and Country) says that will happen Tuesday.

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Chris Kelly, John Diehl, Missouri Constitution, Paul Curtman, transportation sales tax



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