The 2008 legislative session is fast approaching, and MoDOT plans to continue its efforts to educate our elected officials on the need for additional transportation revenues.

In addition to that very important work, MoDOT staff is also hard at work preparing three legislative proposals and one appropriations request the department plans to pursue during the upcoming session:

• Automated Speed Enforcement in Work Zones – seeks a revision to Missouri law that would allow photos generated by an automated speed control device to serve as evidence to issue speeding tickets in work zones.

• Increased Criminal Penalties to Protect Highway Workers – seeks to amend Missouri law to add highway workers working in a construction zone or work zone on the state highway system as public service workers that are protected by the same criminal assault laws that apply specifically to law enforcement officials, emergency personnel and probation and parole officers.

• Improvements in Multimodal Transportation Services - seeks appropriations that will create a funding source, through general revenue, for multimodal programs that would improve passenger rail service, ports and rural and specialized public transportation services.

• Unified Carrier Registration – would put into place statutory authorization to implement a new interstate motor carrier registration program referred to as the Unified Carrier Registration Program. The authorization is necessary to allow Missouri to collect $2.3 million in interstate motor carrier registration fees that it was previously authorized to collect under the former Single State Registration System.