MS House Passes Bill to Help Pay for Roads and Bridges

JACKSON, Miss. (AP)-The Mississippi House is advancing a plan to send millions of state dollars to cities and counties to help pay for roads and bridges.

House members voted 118-0 Thursday, to pass House Bill 722 .

Although the proposal received bipartisan support, its prospects in the Senate are unclear. The bill would set aside a portion of what the state collects each year from the “use tax.”

The tax is paid on goods that will be shipped from out of state for use, storage or consumption in Mississippi. The state currently collects more than $300 million a year in use tax.

The bill says 35 percent of collections would go to roads and bridges, 15 percent each to cities and counties, and five percent to a state fund to help local governments.