Missouri would tie fuel tax rates to transportation department spending

Missouri would reduce the specified fuel tax rate by half a cent per gallon when internal spending exceeds 20% of total transportation department spending. The rule covers a fuel tax rate named in section 142.803. Internal spending includes employee pay and benefits, administrative costs, and payments to other state agencies and universities. The spending share would come from the department’s annual report. The rate could not fall more than 1.5 cents per gallon below the specified tax rate in effect on August 28, 2026. Each fiscal year above the threshold would trigger a reduction for the following fiscal year, until the limit is reached.

Missouri would raise the previously reduced fuel tax rate when internal spending falls below 20% of total transportation department spending. The trigger would use the Missouri Department of Transportation’s internal spending share in its annual report. The rule would apply in a fiscal year following a reduction under this proposal. The increase would be half a cent per gallon or the amount needed to reach the August 28, 2026, rate, whichever is smaller. Spending at exactly 20% would trigger neither a reduction nor an increase under these rules. The increase would apply in the fiscal year following the year with spending below the threshold.

The Missouri Department of Transportation would include a summary of internal and external spending in its annual report. The department would send the report to the governor and lieutenant governor and post it on its website. The spending summary would appear in the department’s annual Financial Snapshot publication, included with the report. The department would submit the report before December 31 each year.