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Transportation sales and use tax passes out of committee

By Collin Reischman

Jefferson City, Mo. — A constitutional amendment establishing a 10-year sales and use tax increase of one percent passed unanimously out of the House Transportation Committee Tuesday.house gallery 2

The bill is in response to a report by a special blue ribbon commission on transportation created last year by Gov. Jay Nixon.

The report from the commission, which was distributed around the Capitol and to members of the committee, details the “dire” need for increased funding for transportation.

Bill McKenna of the Missouri Transportation Alliance argued in the Capitol ardently for the bill, calling transportation one of the few “transcendent” political issues.

“Rural or urban or conservative or liberal, everywhere in the state people recognize the need for good roads and bridges and ports,” McKenna said. “Improving Missouri’s roads improves our economy and our competitiveness.”

With one of the largest highway systems in the country, the Missouri Department of Transportation made drastic cuts throughout the last five years, slashing nearly one quarter of their budget and workforce.