JEFFERSON CITY — State Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, announced today that he was successful in adding an amendment to a House bill, pertaining specifically to road rock taxes at the county level, that has now become law.

“Thanks to the signing of House Bill 613, smaller counties in Missouri will soon be able to let their voters decide on certain road improvements,” Sen. Munzlinger said. “The amendment I was able to add actually comes from Senate Bill 339, which I sponsored this year, but I’ve been working on getting this change made the past few sessions. Now, third- and fourth-class counties will have a way to decide for themselves if they want to fund road improvements on their gravel roads that will cut down on wear and tear costs for not only our farmers, who rely on these roads, but for everybody.”

Senator Munzlinger’s amendment to House Bill 613 authorizes all third- and fourth-class counties to create — upon voter approval — a special road rock fund tax, at a rate not to exceed $1 per acre, for property classified as agricultural and horticultural. Currently, only certain counties — those without a township form of government — are authorized to impose the tax through this process unless they ask for an individual measure for their county to be passed. The new law allows for all eligible counties to have the power to make their own decisions regarding any additional taxes of this nature needed for local roads.

House Bill 613 took effect immediately upon the governor’s signature, since the measure contained an emergency clause. The main part of the bill modifies provisions relating to the collection of property taxes. In part, it changes the amount of fees a county collector must collect for collecting local taxes and allows counties in which townships have been abolished to continue to collect a property tax on a county-wide basis for road and bridge purposes.

“Anytime we can help the counties in northeast Missouri make things easier for their residents, I am happy to help,” Sen. Munzlinger said. “I am glad this bill was finally signed into law.”