Missouri Department of Transportation – Missouri House of Representatives Newsroom

Enhanced distracted driving law sends message: don’t text while driving

Missouri’s newly-enhanced distracted driving law takes effect on Monday, and House members say it’s a message to drivers in the state: put your phones down.

*Representative Jeff Knight (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

After years of the General Assembly considering and rejecting bans on texting while driving, the legislature this year agreed to a ban that covers holding a phone; the typing or sending of text-based messages; video calls or broadcasting or otherwise recording and sharing videos; and watching videos or movies. The language was part of Senate Bill 398, signed into law last month.

It’s called the “Siddens Bening Hands Free Law,” named for two Missourians who died in separate distracted driving incidents.

Representative Jeff Knight (R-Lebanon) handled that proposal in the House. He knew the history of the texting while driving issue was one of a long time lack of consensus. This was based, in part, on conservative lawmakers’ desire not to infringe on individual liberties. So, Knight had concerns when it was amended to another bill he was carrying and wanted to get passed. After talking to some of the opponents of the issue and others with a stake, he decided to let it stand.

He said as technology has evolved, any need to let people keep holding their phones has diminished.

“I have my first vehicle that I can answer the phone by touching a button on my steering wheel and I never thought that was a big deal, and it’s a big deal. I like it. I think the more the technology in these vehicles advances, and the technology of the actual cell phones, I think in the near future you won’t see a need for people to pick their phones up while they’re driving,” said Knight.

Representative Lane Roberts (R-Joplin) has an extensive background in law enforcement, including as a former Joplin Police Chief and Director of the Department of Public Safety. He agreed that this year’s proposal included the right provisions at the right time.

“Finding that balance between individual liberty for one person when it begins to encroach on the safety or the liberty of another is not a bright line. It’s always a challenge to find the balance, and I think that’s what this bill does,” said Roberts. “It recognizes that we’ve grown to the point where the use of technology is so prevalent that misuse of it puts other people at risk, and then given the fact that there is the availability, so many alternatives for hands-free use of technology, it’s just time to think about how we go about limiting that.”

Also on the language’s list of bipartisan backers is Representative Steve Butz (D-St. Louis), whose background is in the insurance industry. He said distracted driving has long been a concern for that industry.

*Representative Steve Butz (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“It’s exceptionally bad in Missouri, and part of that problem is … inattentive driving due to texting, Facebooking, emailing, everything else on your phone while you’re driving, so the more we can hammer, ‘Put the stupid phone down while you’re driving,’ which we’ve been saying for a while but it’s got to have some teeth,” said Butz.

Knight and Roberts, like others in their caucus, said they still hold personal liberties as important, but said those concerns were tempered by the fact that the bill makes phone use a secondary offense. That means a traffic stop can’t be triggered just by phone use. A person has to be stopped for something else before they can be cited.

Knight adds, “The only time they could come after your phone records was [in cases of] severe bodily injury or death, which you can kind of already do. I thought the bill was more of a stronger message to the public that we don’t want [people to be texting while driving] than, probably, the enforceability of it.”

Butz agrees that the most important thing this bill does is send a message that legislators, on behalf of Missouri citizens, are telling drivers that they shouldn’t be on their phones and behind the wheel at the same time.

“Anything that just brings to the regular citizen’s mind – mine, yours, and everybody else in between – just like there was a time when very few of us wore seat belts, now almost everybody wears a seat belt. There was a time when you didn’t put little kids in car seats, now everybody puts their little kids in car seats, texting, to me, is in that thing,” said Butz.

“At this point I don’t believe anybody believes that texting while you’re operating a vehicle, regardless of who you are or where you are, could possibly be considered safe,” said Roberts. “The important thing is that the law now acknowledges that [texting while driving] is problematic. There are now some parameters in place to exercise some level of control and hopefully it will lead to some prudence in the development of technology and people’s decision making. It’s like seatbelts. [The state’s seatbelt law creates a secondary offense] but the fact that you’re required to wear it, the fact that it gets a lot of attention, has most definitely increased the use of seatbelts, so this is very similar.”

*Representative Lane Roberts (Photo: Missouri House Communications)*

As was the case with the seatbelt law when it passed, Roberts and his colleagues expect it will take some time to see wholesale change in drivers’ habits now that the updated distracted driving law has been passed.

The tougher law regarding phone use was long sought by road safety advocates, who are pleased with the passage. The Missouri Department of Transportation says in the ten years up to 2021 there were nearly 200,000 distracted driving related crashes in Missouri, which caused no fewer than 801 deaths. Some agencies think the real totals are far greater.

“States that have texting bans, phone use bans, hands free bans, they do have a reduction in serious auto accidents … to me it was a no brainer,” said Butz.

Michael Bening of Raymore was 46 and trying to clear debris from a highway when he was hit and killed by a driver believed to have been distracted, on Interstate 49 in Cass County in May, 2021. Randall Siddens was picking up traffic cones after a race in Columbia in May, 2019, when a woman who was driving while voice chatting swerved around a vehicle stopped at a red light and hit him.

The bill including the law bearing their names was passed out of the House 97-40. While the law takes effect on Monday, its penalty provisions won’t be enacted until January 1, 2025, to allow for a grace period while the public is educated on the new law.

Bills would have MODOT, not families, cover cost for highway memorial signs

The families of fallen veterans, police officers, and firefighters, and of those missing in action, would no longer have to foot the bill for highway or bridge memorial signs honoring those loved ones under a bill approved by a House committee.

*Representative Tricia Byrnes (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Legislation sponsored by Representatives Tricia Byrnes (R-Wentzville) and Don Mayhew (R-Crocker) would require the Department of Transportation to cover those costs.

“Keep in mind, folks, these are the folks who gave all to represent our country … if we’re going to have honorary signs, the very least that we can do is pay for it,” said Mayhew when presenting the legislation to the House Committee on Transportation Accountability, which he chairs.

Byrnes joined Mayhew in proposing this change in response to the effort to honor Marine Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz, a Wentzville native, who was one of 13 U.S. military members who died in a 2021 bombing at an airport in Kabul, in Afghanistan. She learned that when Corporal Schmitz’s family wanted to have a section of highway named for him they received an invoice from the Department of Transportation for more than $3,000.

“If we have people that are dying for our country and dying for our communities the least that we can do is not hand them an invoice, because in my opinion that’s just selling signs to people who sacrificed their life for us,” said Byrnes.

Corporal Schmitz’ father, Mark, told the committee, “Being a Gold Star father, everyone knows, you die twice. The last thing I want is for my son to be forgotten. To be on I-70, to be visible to so many people every day would be tremendous. So, we went through the state … I think it was $3,200 to be exact … they sent us an invoice that once we raised this money they’ll go ahead and proceed with it. You can imagine, after the sacrifice that he made, to then have to figure out how you’re going to pay for it. I think it was ludicrous and shameful.”

Schmitz said he talked to the families of the other 12 personnel who died at the same time as his son. None of them had to pay the cost of having a memorial sign placed in honor of their loved on, on a highway in their respective states.

“I don’t want to see any fallen [police officer’s, fireman’s, or other veteran’s] family have to go through that. Luckily we have tremendous support from our community … we were able to raise the money in about 24-hours, thank God, but I don’t think people [should] have to go through that,” Schmitz told the Committee.

The Department of Transportation did not oppose the legislation but offered information on how the system currently operates. Chief Safety and Operations Manager Becky Allmeroth said the Department has to consider other signage.

*Representative Don Mayhew (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“This new signage would not aid drivers in navigating the highways. Placing new signs necessary for safe travel would also become more difficult with fewer locations available. This is especially true in our St. Louis and our Kansas City regions of the state right now. It’s a very awkward situation when you’re designing a new interchange and you have to make decisions on those signs that actually guide motorists up through an exit versus a memorial signs that’s already in place and where we can fit all those signs to make sure that we’re keeping our motorists safe.”

Allmeroth told legislators, “We have 830 memorial designations across the state highway system. The number is expected, with this bill, to increase exponentially if the current participation fee is removed.”

Most committee members voiced support for making the change in policy.

“Personally I don’t care about the costs. I just think we need to do this. I don’t think the family should pay,” said Republican Bob Bromley (Carl Junction). “If we’re making the Slim Pickens Highway or Mark Twain Highway at Hannibal I understand having a fee. If we’re doing it for fallen soldiers I think [having a fee is] ridiculous.”

The committee voted unanimously in favor of the bills, House Bill 882 (Byrnes) and 518 (Mayhew), advancing them to another committee for consideration.

Legislators to MODOT and Conservation: get dead deer off the roads

Two House lawmakers say there are too many dead deer on the state’s roads and it’s hurting economic development and tourism. They say it’s time the legislature steps in and gets the Departments of Conservation and Transportation to do something about it.

*Representative Paula Brown (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Hazelwood Democrat Paula Brown and Mexico Republican Kent Haden have each filed identical legislation that would require the Department of Transportation to move dead deer from roadways and bury them at least three feet deep on Conservation land, and would have the Department of Conservation pay for that removal and burial.

Both representatives say this is an issue driven by constituent concerns. Brown shared with the Committee on Transportation Accountability some of the reports she’s gotten from people throughout the state: “There’s 22 deer on this stretch of road … I hit a buzzard because it was eating a deer … then one of my other representatives from my side of the aisle called and said, ‘Have you been hearing about dead deer?’ and I was like, ‘It’s time to do something.’”

Haden had a similar experience.

“I was in a Sunday school class right before I filed this bill and without any prompting from me … the subject of deer on the highways came up, and suddenly a quiet, normally, 25-people in a Sunday school class turned into a pitchfork and torches meeting. Their question was why don’t we do something about these dead deer on the road?”

“We are open to solutions,” said Brown. “This is not to punish anyone but when constituents call you and tell you how disgusted they are, and they’re from all over the state, it’s time for us to do something.”

“ … the problem’s gotten worse, not better.”

The issue came before a House transportation committee four years ago when its then-chairman, former representative Tim Remole (R-Excello), said he counted 75 deer on Highway 63 in the roughly 30 mile distance between Moberly and Columbia. Remole filed legislation about the problem then, and Haden said the committee was told by the Departments of Conservation and Transportation that they would work something out and a legislative solution would not be needed.

Transportation Accountability Committee Chairman Don Mayhew (R-Crocker) said he was on the committee then, “I was a participant in that [hearing] and that was four years ago and I can tell you from my own personal experience the problem’s gotten worse, not better.”

“If the two groups would do what is right for the State of Missouri and not argue over, ‘It’s our money. You can’t tell us what to do,’ then this wouldn’t be an issue,” said Haden. “We have two commissions with adequate funding who … have not yet done what is correct for the betterment of the whole State of Missouri, for a relatively small amount of money.”

Brown agreed, “Conservation carried over roughly $43-million from their budget from last year and we’re asking for, in their estimates, $975,000, give or take.”

The Departments told lawmakers a combination of things has led to the large number of dead deer remaining along the state’s byways. One of those has been staffing.

Department of Transportation Legislative Liaison Jay Wunderlich said the Department is down about 300 maintenance workers. Also gone are hundreds of incarcerated individuals who, pre-COVID, helped remove carcasses and trash along highways.

“ … right now what we’ve been asked to do is just turn the deer around and to leave it on highway right-of-way … ”

Another factor has been chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological disease in deer and other cervids. Department of Conservation Deputy Director of Resource Management Jason Sumners said the Department is concerned about the movement and disposal of deer carcasses in relation to controlling the spread of that disease.

*Representative Kent Haden (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“While not removing the carcass doesn’t deal with that environmental contamination – it’s already there … unless it’s going to a lined landfill, I would prefer (and I think the science would bear out) that just simply leaving that carcass relatively close to where it was … is the best way to mitigate that risk.”

Wunderlich said Transportation crews have been following Conservation Department guidance on what to do with a dead deer.

“If it’s alongside the road, right now what we’ve been asked to do is just turn the deer around and to leave it on highway right-of-way so that the deer will decompose as nature deems appropriate.”

He said between Conservation directions and financial concerns, leaving the deer on the roads made more sense to his Department.

“To make it a priority to go out picking up dead deer our number one focus for the particular day, that’s just not good [use of] taxpayers’ dollars in our minds. We’ve got to take care of the roads so that people are driving safely,” said Wunderlich. “Do we have the choice of picking up dead deer for that particular area or do we have to go out and fill potholes, fix a bridge that has a hole in it, put up guardrail, what have you. We’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got but right now the best that we have is to just go out there to remove the deer as we see them, as it becomes a health or a safety factor.”

At least one Committee member, Lakeshire Democrat Michael Burton, sympathized with the Transportation Department’s argument.

“This bill is going to be putting a higher workload on a department that is underfunded and understaffed and I don’t know how you do that without taking employees away from other things that need to be taken care of.”

“ … somebody’s going to have to say, ‘What’s good for the State of Missouri and who’s going to do it?’”

Haden and Brown insist, though, that the current situation needs to be addressed. They said in addition to being eyesores, sources of odor, and potential road hazards, the carcasses are threats to economic development and tourism.

“A million dollars could very well be made up with one business settling in our state who could be turned off by the fact of, ‘What is the deal here?’ if they come from a state who does pick up their deer better,” said Haden. “You also have all the tourists coming through. How many of them want to look at a decaying, rotten carcass, with odor? What is that damage to the State of Missouri? In my opinion it’s very damaging … as Representative Brown said, it is a constituent-driven issue.”

The Committee’s top Democrat, Michael Johnson, hails from Kansas City which in coming years will host the NFL Draft and the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.

“With all of these great events that we’re going to be having throughout our great State of Missouri that are coming up would you say that it would be in the best interests of us to make sure that our highways look as good as they possibly can?”

Brown agreed, “FIFA, we know that it’s going to impact 250 square miles around the Kansas City city limits. 250 square miles of people coming into our state from everywhere. We have been trying to attract that kind of business and tourism for years and I don’t want them leaving and saying, ‘I’m not going back there,’ … We can brag about our state parks all day long but if you’re going to pass all the carcasses to get to them, they’re not going to want to come back and we want them to come back.”

The committee took in the concerns of the two departments but most members commented that something different needs to start happening. Representative Rudy Veit (R-Wardsville) said he doesn’t think the legislature should be having to deal with this.

“I just don’t see that this is the type of thing that we should be micromanaging, telling you how to go pick up a deer and where to put it and how deep to put it. I would appreciate it if you all would … come back [to] us with a simple solution that may not make everybody totally happy but is something in the right direction.”

Added Haden, “It’s a food fight and somebody’s going to have to say, ‘What’s good for the State of Missouri and who’s going to do it?’”

The legislation is House Bill 501 (Brown) and House Bill 404 (Haden). The committee has not voted on either bill.

Pronunciations:

Remole = REM-oh-lee

Wunderlich = WON-der-lick

Veit = veet

First MO fuel tax increase since ’96 drops Friday, but refunds available

On Friday, October 1, Missouri’s gas tax will increase for the first time in 25 years, but Missourians who don’t want to pay the increase have an option.

Representative Becky Ruth (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

The tax will increase by 2.5 cents October first, with more incremental increases every July 1 until it reaches a 12.5 total increase in 2025. The Department of Transportation estimates the increase, when fully implemented, will generate another $460-million annually for the state’s roads and bridges.

Those who don’t want to pay the increase will be able to apply for a refund. The Department of Revenue has prepared a draft of the form that would be used, which can be viewed here. A final version is expected to be available, either digitally or by paper copy, by the time applications can be accepted between July 1 and September 30 of next year.

Fuel purchased in Missouri for vehicles weighing less than 26,000 pounds is eligible for a refund. House Transportation Committee Chairwoman Becky Ruth (R-Festus) said Missourians who want a refund will, “need to save [fuel] receipts in case they are audited, and there is a form that the Department of Revenue is providing for them to fill out,” said Ruth.

Ruth said she’s not concerned that letting people get back some of their tax dollars will hurt the overall goal, that of giving the Department of Transportation more funding to maintain the state’s roads and bridges.

“I think this is a very fair provision. If people are happy with the job that’s being one and they want to continue to invest in the roads and bridges, then they will leave their money there. If they feel like they need to have that money back; they don’t think it’s fair, they need it for whatever reason, or maybe they’re just not happy with how the money is being spent or they don’t feel like MODOT’s doing a good job, they can request a refund of that new tax.”

Ruth said the initial increase, which begins October 1, has been estimated at about $1 a month for the average Missouri driver.

“Once it’s fully phased in [the increase will be] right around $60 [per year]. Again, it depends upon how much you travel, how much gasoline you use,” said Ruth.

Ruth said the Department has been running about $800-million behind what it needs for road work, per year. The increase will cover a significant portion of that gap, and will also put Missouri in position to draw federal dollars from an anticipated infrastructure bill.

“That federal infrastructure bill is an 80/20 match. Otherwise we would not be in a position to have the match money to pull down those federal dollars … we’re talking about billions. Roughly, Missouri is looking around $7-billion. If we did not have this money to pull down that match, that money would end up going to other states.”

Ruth said she was grateful for the bipartisan support this proposal received. She thinks that is due, in part, to the refund provision, and to lawmakers recognizing a need for additional money for transportation.

“I just look forward to seeing Missouri rise in terms of where we’re at in road funding: having safer roads to travel on, roads that are in better condition. Our investment in our infrastructure also helps to drive the economy and bring in new business,” said Ruth.

The gas tax increase became law when Governor Mike Parson (R) signed Senate Bill 262, which passed out the House with a final vote of 104-52.

Texting while driving ban for all drivers proposed for 2020 legislative session

The House of Representatives will consider extending Missouri’s ban on texting while driving to drivers of all ages in the legislative session that begins January 8.

Representative David Evans (photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Missouri law only bans texting while driving for those 21 and younger. House Bill 1290 would extend that ban to all drivers. It would also allow local jurisdictions to enact their own laws and ordinances on the use of hand-held electronic communications devices.

Representative David Evans (R-West Plains) filed HB 1290. He said it simply doesn’t make sense to ban only younger drivers from texting while driving.

“Being one of the older people with grandchildren I can honestly say my grandkids learned to use computers and start texting and typing as young as 2 or 3 whereas I’m still struggling to do so, and it would distract me far more to text and drive than I’m sure it would most 16, 17, 18 year olds today,” said Evans.

Evans said he wanted to propose what would be the “least intrusive” expansion of the texting while driving law. After reviewing past legislation on the matter he chose to offer the same language as 2019’s House Bill 896, filed by Representative Rory Rowland (D-Independence).

“It’s really a safety issue. It’s important to me as a parent, it’s important to me as a grandfather. As a former judge, you see so many of these cases these days of folks that are distracted by driving. One of the most time-consuming and distracting things you can do is look away and type,” said Evans. “It’s an activity we need to regulate in some fashion. I’m not going overboard here but simply saying hey, that extreme activity of texting and driving is something you’ve got to be more careful about and [the bill would] save lives and save accidents.”

The Department of Transportation backs extending the texting while driving ban to all drivers. Nicole Hood, State Highway Safety and Traffic Engineer, said that would make roads safer for drivers and MoDOT workers. The Department reports that since 2014, cell phone-related crashes in Missouri have increased by 31-percent, reaching nearly 2,500 last year.

“We continue to have record numbers of traffic fatalities. For the past three years Missouri alone has had over 900 people that have been killed in traffic crashes and every one of those deaths affects a family and a community,” said Hood. “Distracted driving, it can be a leading cause of some of these crashes, and using those cell phones and texting can definitely be a contributing factor.”

Similar legislation has received little or no attention from the legislature in recent years. Evans said he will talk to House leaders soon in hopes of getting this bill some traction.

“It will save lives and it will save accidents, so I think it’s a good thing and I think leadership will see that,” Evans said.

Violations of Missouri’s texting while driving ban result in two-point violations against a driver’s license. Accumulation of points can result in a license being suspended or revoked.

Effort lead by family of MODOT worker killed by driver results in new license revocation law

The family of a highway worker killed at a job site hopes a law signed this month will keep others from facing the same tragedy.

Lyndon Ebker was killed in an April, 2016 crash while he was working in a MODOT work zone near New Haven. The driver who hit him was allowed to continue driving for more than two and a half years, and Ebker’s family and MODOT workers said that was wrong.

The driver who struck and killed Lyndon Ebker in a work zone near New Haven more than three years ago had impaired vision, but was allowed to keep driving until this past November when his license was revoked for life. Ebker’s family and the Department of Transportation said that driver put others in danger and he should’ve been forced off the roads more quickly.

House Bill 499 would require the Department of Revenue’s Director to revoke a driver’s license if a law enforcement officer reports that the driver’s negligence contributed to a worker or emergency responder being hit in a work or emergency zone.

Ebker’s daughter, Nicole Herbel, pushed for the legislation, which was signed into law this month by Governor Mike Parson (R).

“I just want people to think about it when they’re seeing the cones or the orange flags, even the trucks, I want this law to make them stop and think, ‘That gentleman was hit and killed because somebody didn’t slow down,’ or even just to remember that they’re humans that are standing there,” said Herbel. “Awareness really is the biggest thing for us.”

The accident that killed Ebker happened in Representative Aaron Grieshemer’s (R-Washington) district, and he sponsored HB 499. He said he was concerned with how long the man who killed Ebker was allowed to keep driving while his case moved through the courts.

“I have heard stories from some MODOT employees that worked with Mr. Ebker that feared for their lives because knowing that this gentleman was out there driving still,” said Griesheimer. “I’d heard another report that he had almost hit somebody else in the City of Hermann, so it was definitely a safety factor involved in this.”

The legislation was a top priority for the Department of Transportation this year, so much so that MODOT Director Patrick McKenna testified for it in a House committee. He told lawmakers it was needed to help protect the agency’s workers.

“We try to keep our roads primarily open while we’re working on them. It’s a considerable challenge, but we have to do it safely so we can honestly look at our employees and say the way that we’re structured will guarantee you the ability to go home every single day after shift to your family and friends, every time throughout your entire career,” McKenna told House Communications. “We have a memorial here just about 100 yards from where I’m sitting right now with the names of not only Lyndon Ebker, but 133 other MODOT employees that through our history have lost their lives providing public service on behalf of Missouri.”

Representative Aaron Griesheimer (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

McKenna thanked all those involved in getting HB 499 through the legislative process and into law, including Rep. Griesheimer, Governor Parson, the Ebker family, the bill’s Senate sponsor, Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, and Justin Alferman, Parson’s legislative director who also filed the legislation when he was a state representative.

Herbel said though her family suffered a tremendous loss, they didn’t back HB 499 out of seeking revenge. She said they were doing what her father would’ve done.

“If he saw someone doing something that was going to hurt themselves or hurt other people he did not hesitate to speak up, and that’s why this law is so fitting because if he had lived through this accident he would’ve done something to keep people safe. He would not have just taken the injury and went on. He would’ve turned around and fought for something to change.”

If a driver’s license is revoked under the new law, the license holder can seek its reinstatement by taking and passing the written and driving portions of the driver’s test, or petitioning for a hearing before a court local to the work zone where the accident occurred.

HB 499’s language is also included in Senate Bill 89, which has also been signed by the governor. Both bills effect August 28.

Another provision in HB 499 increases the fees licenses offices can charge for state services, such as issuing driver’s licenses and license plates.

Earlier stories:

House proposes tougher license revocation laws for those who hit workers, emergency responders

Family of MODOT worker killed in work zone asks lawmakers to toughen license revocation law

House approves budget plan maintaining $100-million boost to transportation

The Missouri House has proposed a $29.2-billion state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. Among other things it maintains Appropriations Committee Chairman Cody Smith’s (R-Carthage) plan to apply $100-million of General Revenue to road and bridge projects. That would be in addition to the money in the state’s Road and Bridge Fund, which is dedicated to transportation.

House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

If that proposal becomes law it would be the first time GR dollars have been used for transportation infrastructure. Smith said the state’s road funding has been falling behind for years, and with other proposals to support it having fallen short – including a gas tax increase that was rejected by voters in November – it’s time to consider unprecedented sources.

He also said his plan is a better option than what Governor Mike Parson (R) proposed, to use bonds to support $350-million for bridge projects, which take years to pay off.

“Going further into debt comes at a high cost. We already spend, on average, about 24-percent of the road fund on debt service as it is,” said Smith. “This plan, paying as we go, could save us as much as $100-million over the course of 15 years, and it’s really that simple.”

Democrats say this approach creates uncertainty for the Department of Transportation, which wouldn’t know year-to-year how much money the legislature might decide to give it.

Kansas City representative Greg Razer (D) said the plan also would set a precedent that transportation would compete with other state priorities that are already funded with GR dollars, including education and medical care.

“The day will come when we have our director of transportation, people with disabilities, the presidents and chancellors of our universities all coming and trying to fight over the same pot of money,” said Razer.

Representative Greg Razer, D-Kansas City (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Razer and other Democrats said the state should not get away from using only the Road and Bridge Fund to support transportation.

“It’s something that has served us well for nearly a century,” said Razer.

Democrats say $100-million won’t go very far toward meeting the transportation infrastructure needs across the state. Festus Republican Becky Ruth said a lot of options that have been considered might be short-term solutions. She said this one would be a good start.

“Right now we have to do something, and that’s what the people of Missouri [have] asked us to do,” said Ruth.

“When our school busses are travelling on roads and crossing bridges and many of those bridges are in poor condition, I want you to stop and think about those children sitting on that school bus. I want you to stop and think about the families driving in their car down the road. I want you to stop and think about all of the people that use our highways day in and day out to get to their destinations – to go to work, to return from work – and they want to be able to do that safely,” said Ruth.

Smith said it is his intention to propose the use of General Revenue in future budget years to cover the projects that would’ve been paid for in the governor’s plan. Each year, then, that would have to be decided upon by the General Assembly.

The 13 budget bills that make up the House’s spending plan now go to the State Senate, which will propose changes to it. Then the two chambers will attempt to reach a compromise on a budget to be sent to the governor before the constitutional deadline of May 10.

House proposes tougher license revocation laws for those who hit workers, emergency responders

The Missouri House has proposed that the Department of Revenue Director be given authority to revoke the license of a driver who hits a road or utility worker in a highway work zone or an emergency responder at the scene of an emergency.

House Bill 499 was written in response to the death of a highway worker nearly three years ago. The man who struck and killed Lyndon Ebker in a work zone near New Haven was later revealed to suffer from macular degeneration that impaired his eyesight, but he was still driving more than two years later.

HB 499 was sent from the full chamber back to a House Rules committee for more work after some legislators raised concerns that earlier versions of it would deny a person of due process. Bill sponsor Aaron Griesheimer (R-Washington) said the changes address that.

“There were some concerns expressed to me that, well what if there was a mechanical issue on your vehicle and you struck a highway worker, and so we added some language in there that states whether the investigator had probable cause to believe the person’s negligent acts or omissions contributed to his or her vehicle striking that individual,” said Griesheimer.

Ebker’s family and the Department of Transportation pushed for the legislation. Lawmakers heard that the workers who’d been on Ebker’s crew felt unsafe because they knew the man who’d killed him was still on the road.

Kansas City representative Greg Razer (D) was one of those who listened to their testimony in a committee hearing.

“That was a tough day to sit through … hearing the pain of those families, and these are men and women who are working very hard for our state in rain, sleet, snow, blazing hot sun, and I hope we can go forward with this and also let Missourians know that when you get to a work zone you need to slow down. You need to pay attention and be extra cautious,” said Razer.

Odessa Republican Glen Kolkmeyer also sits on the Transportation Committee. He said he’s glad to see this proposal advancing.

“I had a firefighter killed in the line of duty by a gentleman who came over a hill that should have never been on the road,” said Kolkmeyer. “We’re getting to name that road after that firefighter that was killed.”

Under the bill an officer investigating a work zone or emergency zone accident in which a worker or emergency responder was hit can file a report to the Department. The Director will revoke a driver’s license if he finds, based on that report, that the driver was at fault.

The driver then will have 15 days to prove competency by retaking and passing the driver’s test or by appealing to courts local to where the accident happened. If the court finds the driver was involved in hitting a worker; the work or emergency zone was properly marked; and the investigating officer found probable cause that the driver was at fault, the license revocation would stand.

Representative Rudy Veit (R-Wardsville) was one of those who raised concerns about due process with the earlier bill language. He said that 15 day provision answers his concerns. He now supports the bill.

“These workers are in a fearful position. That’s every day cars are whipping by them, and there’s two types of people that will hit them. One is those who aren’t competent to be driving. This will quickly remove them from the road. The second one is those who are driving reckless, and keep in mind those are the people we are putting more fear in,” said Veit. “They know if they do something they’re going to have swift, fast consequences, and I think this is another tool in the chest we need to protect the workers and to honor the workers who do this dangerous work and let us keep our roads open.”

In November the driver who struck Lyndon Ebker pled guilty to two charges and his driving privilege was revoked for life.

The House voted 149-5 to send the bill to the Senate.

Earlier story: Family of MoDOT worker killed in work zone asks lawmakers to toughen license revocation law

House Budget head unveils road and bridge funding proposal as part of F.Y. ’20 budget

The Missouri House’s Budget Committee Chairman has unveiled his plan for paying for road and bridge work in the state, in place of the plan proposed by Governor Mike Parson (R) in January.

House Budget Committee Chairman Kip Kendrick (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Cody Smith’s (R-Carthage) plan is to use a $100-million from the state’s General Revenue Fund to support the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), which is the Department of Transportation’s plan for road and bridge improvements for the coming years.

Parson’s plan called for using $351-million in bonds to replace or repair 250 bridges throughout Missouri. The bonding would have been paid back with about $30-million from the state’s General Revenue fund for 15 years.

Smith said it is important to focus on creating a plan that would funds transportation infrastructure but not put the state further into debt.

“We spend hundreds of millions of dollars in debt service every year … when we have an opportunity to make a similar impact on the bridges that have been identified as in need of repair over the course of four years and thereby save the state $100-million over 15 years I think we out to try to take that opportunity,” said Smith.

The Department has paid more than $700-million in debt payments in the last two years, and its average payment is $313-million a year.

Smith proposes spending $100-million in general revenue on roads and bridges in the next four years’ budgets or more. That would be subject to the appropriation process in each of those years. Smith potentially will be the House budget chairman throughout that time, and therefore would be in a position help make that happen.

State budget experts say General Revenue has never been used to pay for transportation infrastructure. That is usually done with funds earmarked for that purpose. Smith said it’s time to consider a fundamental change.

“The budget is a reflection of the state’s priorities and amongst those priorities should first be the core functions of government and I’d certainly put transportation infrastructure amongst the core functions of government,” said Smith.

Representative Kip Kendrick is the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Columbia representative Kip Kendrick is the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee. He called Smith’s proposal bold and a part of a larger discussion about how Missouri’s transportation infrastructure should be paid for, but funding it with general revenue would pit it against other priorities supported by that fund, like K-12 and higher education.

“A hundred million dollars in general revenue, I believe, sets a potentially bad precedent. I don’t know how you ever unwind that,” said Kendrick. “I think we need to be looking at long-term solutions and dedicated funding streams to address our infrastructure problems at the state level.”

Smith said weighing the various priorities of the state against one another is the job of the legislature.

“That is exactly what we’re doing here. We’re talking about how we prioritize transportation versus education versus public safety – that is the process that the General Assembly goes through and I think that’s a natural and appropriate process,” said Smith.

The Missouri Department of Transportation says it is about $8-billion short of being able to fund its transportation needs in the next decade.

Missouri voters in November rejected a 10-cents-per-gallon tax increase to pay for road and bridge work.

Smith’s plan is part of his proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. He unveiled that plan Wednesday. Over the coming weeks the House Budget Committee will propose changes to that plan, then send it to the full House for debate during the week of March 25-29. Before the state budget is finalized it must be approved by both the House and the Senate, then the governor could approve, reject, or delay funding from it.

Family of MoDOT worker killed in work zone asks lawmakers to toughen license revocation law

More than two-and-a-half years after Lyndon Ebker was struck and killed while working on a MoDOT Road Crew, the man that struck him was still driving. Ebker’s family, the Department of Transportation, and Representative Aaron Griesheimer (R-Washington) say that’s not right, and they’re asking the legislature to change state law because of it.

MoDOT employee Lyndon Ebker of New Haven was killed in an April 2016 accident in a work zone outside his hometown. His death prompted the filing of House Bill 499. (photo courtesy of the Ebker family)

“When I say we lost a good man, I mean we lost a good man,” Ebker’s daughter, Nicole Herbel, told the House Transportation Committee. “A man who cared for others and always put others in front of himself. If you would’ve been able to ask him why he would’ve told you just what he told me: ‘I do what needs to be done,’ Let’s do what needs to be done and fix this process together.”

The man who struck Ebker was later revealed to have macular degeneration. Even so, neither his physician, family, nor law enforcement investigating the crash reported him as an unsafe driver, to require that he take driver testing.

The committee is considering House Bill 499, which would allow a driver’s license to be revoked if that driver hits a highway worker or an emergency responder while in a properly marked work or emergency zone. The license would be revoked upon notification by law enforcement to the Department of Revenue.

“The purpose of this bill is to, obviously, protect our highway workers,” said Griesheimer, the bill’s sponsor. “We have a need out there.”

Backers say the bill would make sure whether drivers who have been involved in work zone accidents are competent to be on the roads. A driver whose license has been revoked could seek reinstatement by taking and passing the written and driving parts of the driver’s license exam, or petitioning for a court hearing.

Since 2000, work zone incidents have claimed the lives of 13 employees of Director Patrick McKenna’s Department of Transportation. He told the committee, “Justice was not operating quickly,” in the case that left Ebker dead.

Lyndon Ebker’s daughter, Nicole Herdell, recounted for lawmakers the work zone incident that killed her father in 2016 and asked them to pass House Bill 499. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

“This is a substantial problem for us. In these cases – we are talking about at-fault crashes, not accidents. That is a distinction, and that is a distinction that there is due process to determine. We’re not looking to remove anybody’s rights. We’re simply trying to be able to operate and maintain the system with safety,” said McKenna.

State Maintenance Engineer Becky Almeroth told the committee other workers in the region where Ebker was killed felt unsafe after the accident because the driver who hit him was still on the road.

“For the last 2.5 years those coworkers in this very tight-knit community had to live with the fact that they would get texts on an almost weekly basis, several times a week, letting them know that this driver was out driving at the time. So their minds at the time, they’re not going to put a work zone in that area because they know the routes that he usually takes. There are many times that these workers saw him in the convenience store, saw him in the grocery store, and they know this is somebody that could potentially put others in harm’s way,” said Almeroth.

Griesheimer said he is considering amending the bill to say that drivers could also have their licenses revoked for hitting utility workers in work zones. One lawmaker suggested extending the language to cover hitting anyone in a work zone.

The committee has not yet voted on his bill.