Governor Jay Nixon (D) is traveling around the state this week, urging Missouri lawmakers to pass numerous tax credit proposals during the upcoming special session.
Before leaving today for Kansas City, Marceline and St. Louis, he met with reporters in his State Capitol office. He told them passing the incentives are crucial for job creation, but that the overall number of tax breaks also needs to be reined in.
“I like to make sure we’re balancing the cost and expenses," Nixon said. "You wouldn’t want to just do the side that says, ‘here’s more economic incentives,’ without putting some sunsets and some caps to help make sure you’re paying for it.”
Meanwhile, the governor says he’s considering expanding the call of the special session to address property tax issues faced by Joplin business owners whose properties were destroyed in the May 22nd tornado. He told reporters that it doesn’t seem fair that property taxes can be pro-rated for homeowners whose houses were destroyed by the tornado, while business owners don’t have that option.
“I’m not blocking out that we won’t include that (in the special session call)," Nixon said. "We’ve talked to the relative legislators about it, (and) we’re in the process of getting what those numbers are and seeing if that’s something that would be fairly and properly accomplished in a special session.”
Several items are already on the special session agenda, including tax breaks for turning Lambert Airport in St. Louis into an international air cargo hub, local control of the St. Louis Police Department, and fixing language restricting teacher-student contact through social media.
Nixon is scheduled to travel to Cape Girardeau and Perryville tomorrow to continue touting economic incentive proposals.
The special session begins September 6th.
