Dive summary:

• Officials have expressed concern at the state and federal levels that the traditional funding for highway projects – taxes collected on fuel sales – have been shrinking as people drive less because of the recession and improving fuel economy means fewer stops at the pumps.
• Various jurisdictions have talked about alternatives for keeping roads and bridges in shape, and the Senate in Missouri has opted for raising the state sales tax a penny to collect the amount that would otherwise require a fuel-tax boost of 20-25 cents per gallon.
• The measure needs a second Senate approval and then House passage and voter approval, with built-in re-approval at the polls in a decade.

From the article:

[Sen. Mike Kehoe] said the measure could support as many as 270,000 jobs in Missouri over a decade. ...