This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 21, 2011 - Missouri House leaders announced this morning that they've crafted a compromise economic development package after closed meetings with the chamber's leaders and aides to Gov. Jay Nixon in the office of state House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville.
The aim is to restore a deal with the Senate -- and resurrect a special session of the Missouri General Assembly on the verge of collapse.
But Senate leaders announced this afternoon they are unhappy with the House's efforts, because the Senate was not consulted.
House committee meetings initially slated for today have been moved to Thursday, with floor debate and votes scheduled for Friday.
Said Nixon's staff in a statement: "This is a jobs bill that the governor would support to give us the tools we need to move Missouri's economy forward."
Dan Mehan, chief executive of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was among those involved in the talks. He said in a statement that the House's revised bill "includes many of the same elements included in the Senate economic development package passed last week, including job retention funding, data center incentives, provisions to advance high-tech start-ups, and the freight forwarder incentives tied to the international cargo hub."
The biggest difference is in the "Compete Missouri" provision in the Senate bill, which combines several existing state tax-incentive programs for economic development. House leaders contend that Compete Missouri grants too much power to the governor and his economic officials.
According to Mehan, the House has added more oversight to Compete Missouri. It also would "retool the existing BUILD program to include incentives for freighter infrastructure, a critical piece to the establishment of an air cargo hub in St. Louis."
Such a change would allow tax breaks for the proposed new warehouses that backers say are essential to persuade China to locate a cargo hub at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Such a move would counter the Senate's decision to eliminate $300 million in tax breaks, over 10 years, for such development.
Mehan said the revamped BUILD program "would allow the incentives to be offered statewide and requires levels of capital investment and job creation that must be met to qualify for funding. Local matching funds are also required."
"Working into the night, leadership from the Missouri House and the governor's office have brokered a workable package that is the next step in bringing the special legislative session to a successful conclusion," Mehan said.
In a joint statement issued this morning by the House leadership, one of the architects of the original economic development deal -- state Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country -- said, "I am pleased with the progress we have made in putting together this landmark jobs bill and we are thankful for Gov. Nixon's cooperation during this important process.
"We believe the House proposal represents a sensible compromise that incorporates priorities from all sides and creates the strong taxpayer protections that we have sought all along," Diehl continued. "We are glad to have the governor's support and we think we should now move swiftly to get the bill to his desk for his signature."
"We have worked diligently to craft a bill that strikes balance, and we believe this is a proposal the House, the Senate and the governor can all support," said House Economic Development Committee chair Anne Zerr, R-St. Charles. "We are hopeful that all sides will come together in the coming days to support this important package."
House Speaker Steven Tilley, R-Perryville, meshed his praise with a warning. "As I have made clear, I do not intend to allow this special session to drag on past Friday,'' the speaker said. "I am pleased with this proposal and intend to work with all sides to complete this process by the end of the week."
Meanwhile, the Missouri Senate is slated to go into session at 2 p.m. The Senate is holding public hearings on its version of the economic development package at 4 p.m. today and Thursday in the Senate lounge. The Senate has invited House members to the sessions.
As we reported late Tuesday:
House members and aides to Gov. Jay Nixon spent the afternoon in the office of state House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, discussing how to restore a deal on an economic development package -- and resurrect a special session of the Missouri General Assembly on the verge of collapse.
"People are working, trying to find a solution," said Dan Mehan, chief executive of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as he stood outside Tilley's door.
The meeting, he said, reflected "positive action on the House side."
Sources close to the principals say the talks are centered on ways to revamp "Compete Missouri," Nixon's provision in the Senate version of the economic-development proposal that has riled House leaders.
Compete Missouri merges a number of existing state tax-credit programs into one. Tilley and state Rep. John Diehl, R-Town and Country, are among the critics who say Compete Missouri gives too much power to the governor and his economic team. Nixon's team disagrees.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders of the state Senate issued a statement in response to comments from Diehl and Tilley that the economic-development agreement prompting the special session may be irreparably lost.
Diehl has called for the House to shut down if a compromise is not reached by late Wednesday.
The House Economic Development Committee canceled a meeting scheduled for this afternoon, in which it had been expected to vote on an economic development proposal. That session is now slated to be held Wednesday.
The state Senate is expected to reconvene Wednesday afternoon as well.
State Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, said in the statement that he believes "the legislative process should be allowed to work, publicly determining whether or not the bills they support should advance."
"Unemployment remains high and it has become more and more difficult to fund the critical functions of state government," Mayer said. "These bills are too important to the people of Missouri and our state budget's future to circumvent the legislative process."
Senate Majority Floor Leader Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, added that he's "committed to continue negotiating with our colleagues in the House to put Missourians back to work and put our budget on a long-term path we can sustain."
"We understand these are complex issues that take time to digest and debate," said Dempsey. "We hope members of the House will continue to push forward."
The two chambers are at odds over dramatically different versions of an economic development package, just weeks after both sides thought they had struck a deal.
Aside from Compete Missouri, other points of contention include:
- the Senate's proposed lower spending levels for tax credits for historic preservation and low-income housing,
- and the Senate's shorter time periods before all the tax credits would sunset, unless the General Assembly restores them.
Disagreements also surround a centerpiece of the original economic-development proposal: $360 million in tax incentives the enhance the St. Louis area's chances of persuading the Chinese to locate a cargo hub at underused Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
The Senate knocked out the $300 million for development of warehouses and other infrastructure around Lambert, but it retained $60 million to encourage freight-forwarders to direct international cargo traffic to the airport.
The House version retains the $300 million, although Diehl -- one of the architects of the original deal -- said that the House might agree to a lower figure. The $300 million was meant to send "a big statement" to the Chinese, who are considering several Midwestern cities for a cargo hub.
"I think we can do it with less," Diehl said.
Mehan noted that the first Chinese cargo plane is scheduled to arrive Friday at Lambert amid fanfare. Chinese dignitaries and top Missouri officials have been invited to a dinner that night marking the event.
Opponents of the Hub have decried state tax credits in general while criticizing trade with China.
This week, the rotunda of the state Capitol is filled with paintings erected by advocates of Falun Gong, an Asian spiritual discipline, including meditation and exercise. The paintings illustrate the movement. Visitors are handed pamphlets that focus on the persecution that Falun Gong practitioners say they are subjected to in China.
A woman handing out pamphlets was asked if the display was prompted at all by the discussion of the China Hub. "You might think that," she replied, as she then launched into complaints about the Chinese government.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jay Nixon is saying little publicly, other than telling the Associated Press that he remains optimistic that the Senate and the House will reach an agreement on an economic-development package.
St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley is a big booster of the China Hub effort. He said in an interview Tuesday night that he hopes the General Assembly can resolve its differences.
"We had a compromise during the summer, I hope that compromise can be held," Dooley said. "We need some type of legislation to create jobs and opportunity in the metropolitan area and for the state of Missouri. I think this is one of the opportunities I believe we cannot afford to miss."
Freelance writer Jason Rosenbaum contributed information for this article.
