Gov. Jay Nixon says he is not including the expansion of a tax credit for assembling and maintaining large swaths of land in his planned call for a special legislative session.
Nixon and lawmakers have been working on an agreement for an economic development package. One part of the lawmakers' proposal would remove the time limit for the tax credit program while offering fewer credits annually.
The tax credits are being used by a developer, Paul McKee, who has promised a multi-billion dollar makeover for north St. Louis.
Nixon is planning a special session for September. The governor sent a letter Friday to House and Senate leaders, saying expansion of the land assemblage tax credit program would not meet the standard of, quote, “efficiently creating jobs.” The top Republican in the Missouri Senate, President Pro-tem Rob Mayer of Dexter, says Nixon’s decision is not a deal-breaker.
“Well, I’d like the chance to speak to him directly and find out specifically why he left that provision out of the call and see if we can work with him to include it back into the call," Mayer said.
So far, the special session topics include the Aerotropolis incentives and moving Missouri’s presidential primary from February to March.
Today's news comes following a determination by the Missouri Supreme Court on Aug. 2, which upheld the constitutionality of the tax credit that could affect McKee's development project.
