An advocacy group is seeking to take this tax increase, which was passed last week, to public vote.
COLUMBIA â Last week Missouri lawmakers passed a bill to gradually raise the stateâs gas tax from 17-cent-a-gallon to 29.5 cents over the next five years. There is a refund option for buyers if they keep track of their receipts.
Since the bill was passed, a Missouri conservative advocacy group is seeking to take this gas tax increase to public vote.
Director for Americans for Prosperity-Missouri Jeremy Cady filed a petition to put the new gas tax increase to voters.
Cadyâs petition is currently open for public comment. If the petition is approved, he can begin gathering signatures to get it on the 2022 ballot.
JEFFERSON CITY â Republican lawmakers in Missouri have passed a bill to raise the gas tax for the first time in decades.
The GOP-led House on Tuesday voted 104-52 to gradually raise Missouri s 17-cent gas tax to pay for road and bridge maintenance. A committee in the Missouri House of Representatives unanimously approvedSenate Bill 262 on April 27.
Missouri has not seen a rise in fuel tax since 1996.Â
If signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, the measure would raise the tax by 2.5 cents a year until it hits 29.5 cents per gallon in 2025.
According to previous KOMU 8 reporting, Missouri has the second lowest fuel tax in the nation at 17 cents per gallon, but has the seventh largest road system.Â
MISSOURI- Missouri has not seen a rise in fuel tax since 1996, but that could change soon.
The Missouri Senateâs Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee discussed Senate Bill 262 Tuesday morning that could raise the stateâs fuel tax by 10 cents over the next five years. That means a two cent increase each year until it becomes 27 cents by 2026.
The tax revenue will go toward maintaining the stateâs roads and bridges. A 2020 study ranked Missouri as having the 8th worst road infrastructure in the nation. Unsurprisingly, there is a correlation between low spending and poor road infrastructure.
Dave Schatz, President Pro Tem of the Missouri Senate and author of the bill, said this discrepancy is holding Missouri back.