Missouri Voters Reject Transportation Tax
Missouri voters have rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have raised the state’s sales tax from 4.225 cents to 5 cents for 10 years to pay for road improvements.
The measure on the Aug. 5 ballot was defeated 59% to 41%.
Backers of the measure said the extra three-quarters of a cent would have generated nearly $5 billion for transportation projects over the coming decade.
State transportation officials have listed 800 projects that would have been funded had the measure passed, including replacing a bridge over Interstate 29 in Kansas City and widening 200 miles of I-70, a major freight route.
The measure also would have prohibited raising the state’s 17-cent fuel tax or building any toll roads during the decadelong life of the sales tax increase.
