JEFFERSON CITY, MO – Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) president Dennis Slater issued the following statement after Missouri Governor Mike Parson for signed SB 262 into law, increasing the state gas tax for the first time in two decades:

“The Association of Equipment Manufacturers is pleased Governor Parson and the Missouri Legislature have chosen to make a significant investment in the state’s infrastructure for the first time in two decades,” said Dennis Slater, president of AEM. “The time is now to make this type of commitment to fixing and modernizing our infrastructure so we can create good-paying jobs and make our economy more competitive. Equipment manufacturers support policies that will help transform our nation’s infrastructure and call on Democrats and Republicans at both the state and federal level to pass commonsense, bipartisan bills like SB 262. We applaud Missouri’s lawmakers for making a significant investment in their roads, bridges, and highways, spurring economic development and supporting the 35,000 equipment manufacturing jobs our industry represents in the Show Me State.”

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AEM is the North American-based international trade group representing off-road equipment manufacturers and suppliers, with more than 1,000 companies and more than 200 product lines in the agriculture and construction-related industry sectors worldwide. The equipment manufacturing industry supports 35,000 jobs in Missouri. Equipment manufacturers also contribute $3.2 billion a year to the state economy.