This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 6, 2011 - The Missouri House passed an economic development bill this afternoon by a 98-48 margin after it reconvened to vote on the legislation that had brought the special session of the legislature to a standstill.
But it's unclear what happens next because the House bill differs significantly from the Senate version passed several weeks ago.
For example: The House swiftly voted this morning to reject the state Senate's plan for "sunsets'' on tax credit programs for low-income and historic renovation. Some senators have threatened to filibuster the package if the programs aren't subject to sunsets of at least seven years, with possible reauthorization.
House leaders oppose "sunsets," saying a handful of senators could kill off the programs. But some senators have said that lack of "sunsets'' would prompt them to kill the economic development package.
The House also voted, by a 95-51 margin, to cut the state's corporate income tax from 6.25 percent to 5.5 percent. That is not on the Senate bill, either.
This morning's House debate reflected various longstanding differences. The two chambers have been deadlocked on numerous provisions in the economic development package for weeks.
Another issue is whether to authorize tax credits to encourage the development of a China cargo hub at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. The initial plan called for $360 million in tax credits for the Hub project; the Senate trimmed it down to $60 million.
The House Economic Development Committee made some changes Wednesday. It retains the Senate's slimmed-down China Hub plan, as well as proposed tax incentives to recruit amateur sporting events and create data centers. It also caps the low-income housing tax credit program at $110 million and the historic preservation tax credit at $90 million. The later program has been critical toward rehabbing buildings in St. Louis City.
In addition to removing the sunsets for the two aforementioned tax credit programs, the House bill also didn't include the consolidation of incentive programs under the umbrella "Compete Missouri,'' which is in the Senate version and had been supported by Gov. Jay Nixon.
The House committee bill also contains language altering the land assemblage tax credit, a program aimed at revitalizing large tracts of property. The program has largely been associated with developer Paul McKee, who has sought to revamp large portions of northern parts of the city of St. Louis.
The changes provide more time for developers to recoup the tax credit, also appears to expand the program so that it could include potential projects in Kansas City. The inclusion of the land assemblage provision is notable, since Nixon had specifically told lawmakers before the special session began that he did not want the issue to be included in the economic development package.
House Speaker Steve Tilley, R-Perryville, told the Beacon in an interview earlier this week that the House would likely compromise with the Senate on many issues.
"Obviously there are a few things in it that have caused great heartburn with the House," Tilley said. "We'll take out the things that we feel are not great public policy and ... let the will of the body decide what we'll send over."
The initial version of the economic legislation did have sunsets that House leaders had agreed to, in exchange for such items at the proposed $360 million in tax credits for the China hub. Before the special session started in early September, Senate and House leaders went on a series of press events to announce a compromise.
But the bill passed by the Senate made a number of substantial changes, such as slashing the China Hub credtis, which Tilley says violated the original deal. The House ended up taking no action on the Senate bill, which effectively placed the session on hiatus.
The Senate then declined to act on two bills that already had passed the House: one ended state control of the St. Louis Police Departmen, while the second moved the state's presidential primary from February to March.
House Minority Leader Mike Talboy, D-Kansas City, predicted that members of his Democratic caucus could find agreement with the House bill. The caucus makes up a little over a third of the overall House, which is dominated by Republicans.
"From what I have had in preliminary discussions as to what the goal of the [House bill] would be, I don't see it being much of a problem for most of my caucus members," Talboy said.
Whether it meets approval in the Senate, Talboy said, remains to be seen. He noted it's become a common occurrence for the legislature to deadlock over tax credits.
Tilley has been outspoken about keeping expiration dates off of the historic preservation tax credit and the low-income housing tax credit. Some senators -- such as Sens. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, and Will Kraus, R-Lee's Summit -- stated a bill without "sunsets" would kill the bill in the Senate.
"It seems that every year that I've been down there, it comes down to the same two arguments about caps, sunsets and maybe there's a tangential argument as well," Talboy said.
"As we head toward the ends of the discussions, we see people that are able to work a deal," he added. "And there are things people will give and take on."
Nixon Urges Agreement
Gov. Jay Nixon has been critical of the lawmakers for not passing an economic development bill. He reiterated that unease last week when he released a statement calling on "the House and the Senate to resolve their differences and get a fiscally responsible jobs bill on my desk, or to bring this special session to a close."
Asked about that statement, Tilley said, "The governor should be supportive of coming up with a resolution, not trying to make the situation worse. Statements like that are not always the most helpful."
Talboy provided a mixed assessment of the governor's brief statement.
"If we're not going to have a vote, it doesn't make sense to keep going into technical sessions," Talboy said. "I don't think you end just for the simple fact that it's not moving fast enough. That said, the governor is right in that if it's a stalemate and nobody's going to budge, it doesn't do the taxpayers any good for us to be down there."
But, added Talboy, if there is a chance of "meaningful discussions on what might happen with the bill, we're far enough in the process I wouldn't want to give up on the rest of it because we're at a slowdown."
Jason Rosenbaum, a freelance journalist in St. Louis, covers state government and politics.