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Rep. Chris Dinkins, Sen. Gary Romine work to secure additional funds for area schools and roads

Press release

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – State Rep. Chris Dinkins and state Sen. Gary Romine hope to provide a new source of funding for schools and roads in their district. Both legislators recently filed legislation (HB 460 and SB 202) that would distribute funds generated from mining royalties on Missouri’s federal land to counties where the royalties were accrued. Dinkins and Romine said their bills could generate as much as $5 million in revenues for Missouri counties.

“This is a common sense change that will ensure money that is generated by the land and the mining activity that occurs in our area comes back to us and benefits the people who live and work here. Sen. Romine and I will work together this session to get this change across the finish line and into law so we can provide a new source of revenue for our schools, our roads, and our other vital local services like public safety,” said Dinkins, R-Annapolis.

The bills filed by Dinkins and Romine would require that moneys disbursed to the Office of Administration from the Office of Natural Resources Revenue within the U.S. Department of the Interior from mining royalties on federal land located within Missouri be distributed on a proportional basis to each county in the state where the royalties accrued. Fifty percent of the funds would be distributed to public schools in the county. Twenty-five percent of the dollars would go to maintenance of roads and bridges in the county. The final 25 percent will go toward a county’s public safety.

Dinkins’ bill now awaits assignment to committee for further discussion.