By BRENT MARTIN
Missouri lawmakers return to Jefferson City today for a special legislative session, primarily to consider an incentive package to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
State Sen. Rusty Black, a Republican from Chillicothe, says discussions continue as Gov. Mike Kehoe attempts to gain the votes needed to approve the package.
“I do think that there’s a path for this to end up on the governor’s desk and signed, but I certainly don’t think all the negotiation is over yet,” Black says.
Kansas has an offer on the table to lure both the Chiefs and the Royals across the state line. Other cities, such as Nashville and Salt Lake City, are reputably interested in luring the Royals away.
Black says supporters must overcome objections that the issue only concerns western Missouri.
“If you’re from St. Louis, this is for Kansas City and we don’t care about that,” Black says. “And we’ve got to get past some of that I believe if we’re going to get this piece of legislation passed.”
Black says St. Louis should actually be an example. He recalls driving by the former Edward Jones Dome, now the Dome at America’s Center, and noticing it hasn’t spurred economic development in downtown St. Louis since the Rams left.
Black views this as an economic development issue.
“And sports teams in my mind, professional sports teams in Rusty Black’s mind, they’re somewhat like talking about a Ford plant closing down or a General Motors plant closing down or, in St. Joe, all of the sudden Altec decides that they’re going to leave, that has a lot more economic impact than inside their chain link fence.”
The governor also wants lawmakers to consider a few capital improvement projects as well as tax incentives for St. Louis area homeowners who suffered property damage in the recent storms.
Black says there could be a possibility of reviving projects for St. Joseph, along with improvements for North Central Missouri College and other northwest Missouri interests in the original $500 million capital improvement package.
“At this point in time, they’re not in there, but it’s not like that I’m not paying attention to what’s going to move forward and if the opportunity comes, I’m probably going to ask for those things to be included again,” Black says.
Another obstacle to overcome in this special legislative session is the way the regular session ended. The Missouri Senate adjourned abruptly and early with much acrimony after Republicans used a parliamentary procedure to cut off debate and force votes on two controversial issues.
Black says the tensions haven’t been smoothed over, at least not yet.
“We’re going to have to work through those and hope that we can find a path even though there’s still hurt feelings,” Black says.
Lawmakers will also consider authorizing tax breaks for St. Louis area homeowners who suffered property damage during recent storms.
