Missouri voters will decide in November whether to gradually increase the state’s motor fuel tax by 10 cents per gallon. Analysts say this could eventually generate an additional $293 million for the state’s road fund.
If voters approve the measure, the state’s tax on gas and diesel would increase to 27 cents by 2022. Taxes on alternative fuels, including natural gas and propane, would also rise.
MoDOT will meet with regional planning commissions this month to determine what projects should be priorities in the coming years.
Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of the Department of Transportation, declined to provide a specific list of projects that were priorities, deferring to the local process that will play out this summer.
But, as he has done often in recent years, McKenna stressed the importance of the funding increase, which would bring Missouri from the lowest gas tax in the nation to just above the current national average of 24 cents per gallon.
“This is a major, major issue for the nation and our region and our state,” McKenna said.
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