Legislation providing storm relief as well as a bill that would help fund new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals are on their way to the Missouri Senate floor for debate.
Two Senate committees passed two bills each on Tuesday, sending all four to the Senate.
The Appropriations Committee, on a 12-0 vote, advanced a budget bill that includes $25 million for storm relief related to housing. The bill allocates those dollars to the Missouri Housing Development Commission for emergency relief for storm victims across the state.
The money would be available to areas that experienced storm damage not only from the May tornado in St. Louis but also from storms elsewhere in March and April.
The unanimous support for the bill in committee came despite comments from Democrats that the funding isn’t nearly enough, especially for the tornado damage in St. Louis.
Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, called the proposal “an insulting amount of money.”
“I think Stevie Wonder can see that this is probably one of the most offensive proposals that I've ever seen when it came to a natural disaster,” Williams said.
Budget Director Dan Haug told the committee the $25 million is only one of the ways the state plans to support storm victims.
“We are also, within the special session, proposing [tax] credit for individuals that had storm damage. So that's another way that we will be able to help people out,” Haug said.
Haug said he was hopeful the state would receive aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the May tornado.
Williams said it was troubling for the state to assume that FEMA will approve the disaster declaration for St. Louis and provide more funding.
“I am not optimistic that FEMA is going to step in and do anything, and that is not the state's fault, but that is the state's reality,” Williams said.
Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, said if there was ever a time to dip into the state’s general revenue, it’s now.
“I get that we're running into tough fiscal times, but I sure hope that we can do a little bit more than what's before us today,” Nurrenbern said.
Included in the legislation is funding for other projects across the state that were a part of a failed budget bill.
They include funding for park projects and nearly $50 million to go toward a mental health hospital in Kansas City.
The legislation also has $25 million in general revenue for the Radioisotope Science Center at the University of Missouri Research Reactor.
Originally, the reactor was set to receive $50 million.
Senate Appropriations Chair Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, indicated on Tuesday that he was inclined to allocate the full $50 million instead of $25 million.
Stadium funding for Chiefs and Royals advances
The Senate Fiscal Oversight Committee also passed two bills on Tuesday. One of them includes the plan to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
The committee voted 6-3 to advance the legislation, which would allow the state to help pay for new stadiums or stadium renovations.
The program would provide matching funds for development and renovations by covering annual bond payments to the amount that the team is currently generating in taxes in Missouri.
Sen. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall, said that means if the Royals were to generate $10 million in tax revenue, then the state would bond up to $10 million for a stadium project.
“Taxes include the Missouri state sales tax, Missouri’s withholding tax, and [the] nonresident athletes and entertainers tax,” Gregory said.
Through the bill, total state dollars would not exceed 50% of total project costs. The measure would contain a clawback provision, meaning that if a team leaves Missouri after funds are committed to a project, it will be responsible for paying back the state.
The legislation is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The bill is a response to legislation passed last year by Kansas lawmakers that offers to pay 70% of the cost of building new stadiums.
“I firmly believe these are Missouri's teams, and if Missouri doesn't have an offer on the table for the teams to even consider, that will speak for itself and how we view them, what they bring to our state and our economy,” Gregory said.
Some senators expressed heartburn over the legislation, especially when other projects, like storm relief and the mental health hospital in Kansas City, have yet to cross the finish line.
“I've been on the record many times on this, while I certainly support doing everything that we can to keep the Chiefs and the Royals in the great state of Missouri, we have to ensure that our capital improvements projects go through,” Nurrenbern said.
