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Senator proposes tax increase to fund transportation

JEFFERSON CITY - Sen. Morris Westfall, R-Halfway, helped kill Gov. Bob Holden's transportation plan last year. But after a year riding Missouri roads, he now believes a tax increase will be necessary.

The Senate Transportation Committee chairman said he spent last year assessing Missouri's public transportation system and personally drove on highways in all four corners of the state.

"Our interstate system you'd have to say is pretty bad," was his conclusion.

Westfall's transportation bill is based on user-fee funding. It would include an increased motor-fuel tax and a raise in the general-sales tax. The bill could not be made into law unless approved by public vote.

Westfall said he had previously opposed Holden's plan for a tax increase because of its size and because he found the Transportation Commission to lack credibility before the nomination of new commissioners in the last few months.

Westfall said his bill would generate around $400 million in additional revenue, increasing the transportation budget by around 40 percent. This is significantly less than Holden's $600 million proposal last year.

The senator said he believes his proposal is in a range that the public is more likely to approve, although it is not as large as the transportation department and the governor suggested.

Holden said he thinks the proposal is a good starting point. "I'm encouraged that they're coming to our side," the Democratic governor said.

Westfall's plan includes a 5-cent increase on the motor-fuel tax, which would raise it to 22 cents per gallon. The extra money would only serve to finance road construction and maintenance. "The people that use the roads pay for them," Westfall said.

The senator also proposes a general sales tax increase of 3/8 of a percent.

Westfall said what he's proposing wouldn't pass in the district he represents, but wants the debate to happen. "The reason I'm going foward is I think we need to get this issue behind us," he said. "Right now it's in limbo."

But Westfall also warned he may withdraw his support. "I'm still not supporting a big package," he said. "I keep emphasizing if this thing gets out of hand it's not going to bother me to go back and filibuster or use my position as transportation chairman to kill a big package."