So far, there has not been a ground swell of support for the idea of a special legislative session in Missouri to pass an alternate version of the tax cut bill vetoed earlier this year by Governor Jay Nixon (D).
On Thursday, House Bill 253's sponsor, State Representative T.J. Berry (R, Kearney), told the Associated Press that a special session could give lawmakers time to remove language that would make the tax cuts retroactive to prior years. House and Senate GOP leaders have so far made no public comments on Berry's request. The bill's Senate sponsor, Republican Will Kraus of Lee's Summit, says he's open to the idea of a special session, but would prefer to override Nixon's veto.
"It'd be my desire to take care of tax policy sooner (rather) than later," Kraus said. "We have businesses making decisions every day on whether they're gonna stay in Missouri, or come to Missouri, or go to another state."
Kraus says, though, that they never intended to raise taxes on prescription drugs or textbooks, and that a special session would give them the chance to clean up that particular language. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Governor Nixon says they have "no comment" on the possibility of a special session next month.
Missouri's veto session is set for September 11th.
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