JEFFERSON CITY, Mo – Missouri legislature proposed a bill that would provide more state transportation funds to MODOT, but after the recent findings of the state auditor, the bill may face more opposition than expected.
House Speaker John Diehl requested two House committees to come together to help solve the state’s issues with funding transportation. While the bill was expected to be completed in March, it was put on hold after a state auditor found that Missouri wasted around $7,000,000.
Diehl called the findings “disturbing” and would like to put the bill on hold in the House until they can fully investigate where that money is being wasted.
On the opposite side, Senate President Tom Dempsey was upset by the misuse of the money, but called it “not that big of a deal” because the money was spent addressing issues within the transportation department.
This week, the Senate is expected to debate a proposal that would raise Missouri’s gas tax by 2 cents a gallon per year for the next three years. This increase would generate enough money to keep Missouri from losing federal transportation money.
The chambers resume today with committee meetings, followed by full Senate and full House meetings.
New Gas Tax Idea Facing Opposition
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