Missouri Senate committee looks to increase sales tax to fund transportation

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Intro:	A West St. Louis city alderman was one of two people to speak against a sales tax increase at a Senate Committee Transportation hearing early Wednesday morning.
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Wrap: Chairman Mike Kehoe's bill would put an increase of the sales tax before Missouri voters.

A parade of supporters of the one cent, ten year sales tax increase which would fund transportation spoke for over an hour.

St. Louis City's 24th ward alderman Scott Ogilvie, said the bill won't pass unless it promises something else.

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Description: "There has to be some component of this that sells residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area. and I think what sells in the St. Louis metro area is public transportation."

He said he wants to see a more concrete list of projects the state would spend the estimated eight billion dollars on.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Taylor Beck.

Intro:	Although Missourians haven't voted for a sales tax increase in decades, a Senate Transportation committee met Wednesday morning to hear a bill that would do just that.
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Wrap: It was standing room only at the unusually early 7:30 a.m. hearing on Senator Mike Kehoe's bill to increase taxes to fund transportation.

If passed the bill would put a ten year, one cent sales tax increase before Missouri voters in 20-14.

An opponent said the tax is unfair to those who don't often use roads.

But a transportation leader at an engineering consulting firm in Kansas City Peter Rahn disagrees.

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Description: "Even if you don't leave your home you benefit from transportation, because somehow the food on your shelves had to get there, when you order through Amazon, the product still has to be delivered to your home."

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Taylor Beck.

Intro:	People packed an unusually early Senate Transportation Committee meeting Wednesday to speak about chairman Mike Kehoe's bill to increase sales taxes.
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Wrap: If passed, the bill would put a ten year, one cent sales tax increase before Missouri voters in 20-14.

Funds from the tax increase would go toward transportation.

Kehoe said the tax would bring in nearly eight billion dollars of revenue and create more than 250-thousand jobs.

But St. Louis City's 24th ward alderman Scott Ogilvie said that he wants to see a concrete list of the projects first.

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Description: "I talked to somebody and they said "well we'll find a way to spend the money," and to me... well that's not a great answer."

The committee took no action on the bill.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Taylor Beck.

Intro:	A Republican's proposal for a sales tax increase proposal to fund transportation led to a choked up testimony at an early morning Senate Transportation Committee hearing Wednesday.
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Wrap: Supporter Shawn Archambault founded One Curve at a Time, an organization dedicated to curbing accidents caused by dangerous roadways like the one his 20-year-old daughter died on.

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Description: "Some say there is not enough money to fix these roads. But the cost of death will ripple through the community, a family, and a state, much deeper than roads like highway FF would ever cost to be fixed."

The committee took no action on the bill.

Reporting from the state Capitol, I'm Taylor Beck.