Missouri's Senate on Monday approved a 10-cents per-gallon fuels tax increase, phased in over a five-year period.
But the proposed increase is far from a done deal, since it was added to a 420-page bill that makes numerous changes to the ways state government gets its revenues - and still must win the Senate's final approval.
Senators spent about 2 hours Monday on Sen. Bill Eigel's bill before setting it aside and ending the day's business - with most of the first 90 minutes involving a detailed discussion of its various provisions, between Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, and Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur.
The main point of his bill is speeding up the state's plan to reduce income taxes.
Under the current law, passed several years ago over then-Gov.