Gas Tax Bill Passes Missouri Senate

The Missouri Senate on March 11 passed a bill that would gradually raise Missouri’s motor fuel tax for the first time in two decades.

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) sponsored SB 262, which will raise the current 17 cent tax by 2.5 cents annually for the next year four years.

Schatz’s bill would bring the tax to 29.5 cents per gallon by 2025.

The money would go towards Missouri’s roads and bridges.

Previous attempts to get a motor fuel tax increase passed have stalled.

Proposition D took the issue to voters in 2018, which was rejected.

Missouri has the second-lowest fuel tax in the United States.

The Missouri Department of Transportation said in 2019 the purchasing power has dropped from 17 cents to 6 cents.

Missouri’s revenue per mile is $50,184, less than a quarter of the national average of $225,794.

In 2020, three bills were introduced that would have raised the gas tax.

None gained any traction.

HB 1476 proposed raising the tax 2 cents per gallon through 2023, bringing it to a total of 23 cents.

HB 1477 proposed an annual 2 cent increase over a five-year period.

SB 539 proposed raising the tax to 19 cents in 2021, then adjusting each year for inflation.

Schatz’s bill contains a mechanism that includes a rebate program.

Drivers would be required to apply with the Department of Revenue once a year to receive a refund with the tax. Drivers would have to supply data on the number of gallons purchased, information on the seller and purchaser and more.

A similar policy exists in South Carolina.

Schatz’s bill also would establish an Electric Vehicle Task Force to analyze the impact of electric vehicles on transportation funding.