JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has signed into law the state’s first gasoline tax increase in decades. The law will gradually raise the state’s 17-cent-a-gallon gas tax to 29.5 cents over five years, with the option for buyers to get a refund if they keep track of their receipts. The first 2.5-cent increase is slated to take effect in October, which will bring the gas tax to 19.5 cents. A conservative advocacy group’s Missouri chapter is trying to put the gas tax hike to a public vote in 2022.