Funding Roads with Cigarette Taxes on the Ballot in 2015.

Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association is promoting an initiative to significantly raise tobacco taxes. The details:

  • A proposed 135% tax increase
  • The funding will allow for top priority safety projects to be done like unsafe bridges and roads
  • The funding would be effective 1/1/17

WGEM.COM: Proposed tobacco tax hike in Missouri could help area roads

St.Louis Post- Dispatch

 

Rep. Wray on 2015 Transportation Legislation

“There has been some discussion about a portion of that tax being diverted away from highway construction. We were able to stop that in the current budget. That is approximately $650 million per year that will be spent on highway maintenance and construction,” Wray said. “That was an item and topic that I heard a lot about on the campaign trail. I am happy to report to you that we were able to end that diversion.”

Waxahachie Daily Light

Legal Trend: State Supreme Court Strikes Down Red Light Cameras

Missouri Supreme Court struck down red light cameras this week. The rational:

  • One of the city ordinances stated no points would be applied against the person fora  red light camera violation, but that conflicts with state law requiring points for moving violations.
  • Another city ordinance unbconstitutionally shifted the burden of proof of that the moving vioaltion occurred onto the defendant.

Courts have also halted red light camera use in Florida. Illinois & California have upheld the use…

4 Reasons Texas Concerned Citizens are Targeting High Speed Rail

A group of former CEOs and executives formed a group that thought it would support high speed rail for the economic devleopment opportunities for Ellis County.

Once it was determined that Ellis County wouldn’t see economic development as the train speeds through, the group shifted course to killing high speed rail.

The group wants to keep high speed rail out of Ellis County because:

  • agriculture contributes $160 million to the Ellis County economy
  • land will have to be aquired in Ellis…

Texas Central Railway Shifts to some Public Funding?

The Dallas Observer points out that the funding message for the team bringing high speed rail to Texas has shifted from all private fudning to exploring certain public funding options.

Public funding options for high speed rail include:

Americans for Prosperity Enter Palmetto State Gas Tax Debate

The gas tax is taking center stage for campaign season in South Carolina. “Anti-tax activists are working the phones to secure GOP senators’ opposition in 2016, when every legislator is up for re-election.”

The message: Reform the system. Don’t add more money. No new taxes. Governance reforms include:

  • abolishing both the legislatively appointed DOT commission and the State Infrastructure Bank (which funds transportation rojects)

The Chamber of Commerce retorts that reform is needed along…

Lege Trend: Peachy Transportation Laws Impact Local Governments in 2 Ways. Ends Aviation Exemptions.

Georgia this year overhauled transportation funding by passing HB 107, that will:

  • phase out the State’s 4% sales and use tax on motor fuel
  • raises the excise tax to $0.26 cents per gallon on gasoline and $0.29 per gallon on diesel, dedicated to transportation funding
  • creates an up to $100 fee on heavy trucks
  • eliminates the $5,000 state income tax credit for buying an electric vehicle
  • total-electric car owners will now pay a $200 annual fee ($300 for commercial vehicles)
  • adds an…

Golden State in Special Session on Transportation Funding & Governance. 2 Governance Proposals.

Last week we talked about business & labor leaders in California proposing an increase in fees and taxes to generate $6 billion for road funding.  This week the California Economic Summit’s Infrastructure action team suggested transportation governance overhaul including:

 

  • “Creating additional regional financing authorities authorized to build and maintain transportation and goods movement projects—and to enter into public-private partnerships to fund these projects, conduct…

Regulatory Trend: Update to Ride Share Rules from the Silver Mine State

Nevada’s proposed rules for ride share regulations have now been published. The rules include:

  • $300,000 application fee + a levy of 1% of annual revenue
  • Drivers could face a $50 fee the first year and $10 annual renewals

Procedural hurdles for the rules:

  • public hearing
  • consideration by state lawmakers on the Legislative Commission.

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