JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri voters would be asked to approve a one-cent sales tax for transportation funding under legislation endorsed by the state House.

The proposed constitutional amendment approved on Tuesday would appear on the November ballot if passed by the Legislature. It needs another affirmative vote in the House before moving to the Senate.

State transportation officials estimate the tax to generate about $800 million annually. It would need to be reauthorized by voters after 10 years to remain in effect. Ten percent of the funds raised would go toward local transportation projects.

Supporters say the penny tax is necessary for the state to maintain roads and bridges, and to finance new infrastructure projects. Opponents say the sales tax hike would disproportionately hurt low-income Missourians who may not frequently use roads.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police are asking federal investigators to help determine whether more than a dozen shootings in less than a month along Kansas City-area roads and highways are connected.

Three drivers have been wounded by gunfire as they drove along area highways, many in an area called the Grandview Triangle, where three interstate highways intersect.

Ten of the 13 shootings happened in Kansas City, including Sunday evening when a 56-year-old man was eastbound on Interstate 470 when he was shot in the left calf.

The other three shootings were in the suburbs of Leawood, Kan., Blue Springs, Mo., and Lee’s Summit, Mo.

The Kansas City Star reports Police Chief Darryl Forté met with FBI officials on Monday and has asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to assist.

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A virus never before seen in the U.S. has killed millions of baby pigs in less than a year, threatening pork production and pushing up prices by 10 percent or more.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says a pound of bacon averaged $5.46 in February. That’s 13 percent more than a year ago. Ham and chops have gone up too, although not as much.

Scientists believe porcine epidemic diarrhea came from China, but they don’t know how it got into the United States.

Agricultural economist Steve Meyer estimates the virus has killed nearly 6.8 million pigs in 27 states since last May. Meyer says Americans expect cheap food, but PED has shown how much an outbreak can cost and how important disease prevention is to the food supply.

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – The Missouri official responsible for representing consumer interests before utility regulators will be leading a state division tasked with developing an energy plan.

Gov. Jay Nixon said Tuesday the Energy Division within the Department of Economic Development will be working to develop the state plan. The division will hold public meetings and gather information from consumers, businesses, utilities, renewable energy companies and others.

The Energy Division will be led by Public Counsel Lewis Mills. The public counsel represents consumers before the Public Service Commission, and Mills has led that office since 2005. Before that, Mills was named deputy chief regulatory law judge for the Public Service Commission in 1998.

Nixon also named his office’s deputy legislative director, Kristy Manning, to be the Energy Division’s deputy director of policy.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — An Oklahoma man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a shooting death in Joplin.

Eighteen-year-old Elijah Taylor, of Tulsa, was sentenced Monday for second-degree murder in the July 2012 death of 23-year-old Jacob Wages. He also was sentenced to five years for burglary, to run concurrently.

The Joplin Globe reports Taylor and two other suspects have accepted pleas in the case, a fourth was convicted of second-degree murder and the fifth is awaiting court proceedings.