Some were skeptical when Gov. Mike Kehoe called lawmakers back to Jefferson City for a packed special session.
The end of the 2025 regular session featured hard feelings – especially between Senate Democrats and Republicans. And the marquee issue, legislation providing state aid to keep the Royals and Chiefs from moving to Kansas, provoked bipartisan scorn.
But during an episode Friday of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, two lawmakers – Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, and House Speaker Jon Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit – said a bipartisan contingent of legislators was able to get the stadium package across the finish line while also aiding victims of the May 16 tornado.
Roberts said Kehoe’s initial proposal of only providing some funds for temporary housing was inadequate.
“For the stadium bill to move forward, we needed real relief for the city of St. Louis after the disaster of this tornado,” Roberts said.
In the special session, the legislature passed:
- A package allowing the Chiefs and the Royals to effectively fund new stadiums or improvements with sales taxes.
- $100 million in general revenue that can go toward St. Louis tornado relief.
- A tax credit to help homeowners with insurance recoup deductibles.
- $25 million to a Missouri Housing Development Commission program aimed at helping people find temporary housing.
- Provisions aimed at lowering property taxes in some counties.
The tornado-related provisions passed without much trouble. But the stadium plan received bipartisan criticism from some lawmakers who contended that the state shouldn’t be subsidizing for-profit sports teams.
Others contended that the bill that contained the stadium plan is unconstitutional, primarily because it contains too many subjects. They also doubt the property tax plan will pass muster, considering that counties are treated differently in the legislation.
Patterson said that it will be up to courts to decide if the legislation that contains the stadium aid will pass constitutional muster. But he also said that if lawmakers didn’t act, they risked the Chiefs and Royals taking significant amounts of money across the border into Kansas.
“It's not just the Kansas City Chiefs that are going to be playing in this facility. It's going to be for Taylor Swift concerts. It's going to be monster trucks. All of that benefits the taxpayers in the state with the tax revenue. So it's not just for the Chiefs and Royals, but they're [the stadiums] public entities. And the public will benefit from them.”
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
