Missouri Governor Jay Nixon is continuing to voice his support for Boeing to choose St. Louis as its location to produce its new commercial aircraft, the 777X.
Boeing is shopping for a new location after a disagreement with the Machinists union in Washington. The company and has since met with governors in numerous states. Nixon met with Boeing last week, and said he will work quickly with the state’s legislative leaders to craft a proposal to lure the aerospace company.
“This is fast-moving and accelerating," Nixon told reporters. "I won’t give a specific time, other than to say that this is something that needs to be done from our perspective in early to mid-December.”
The Democratic Governor said he planned to meet with Republicans in the legislature Wednesday afternoon.
A proposal is likely to include hefty tax breaks, but Nixon said he wouldn't characterize subsidies for Boeing as being "corporate welfare."
“Spending these limited public resources in the way that they can be the most effective economically for us is important," Nixon said. "We’ll be sure we have a solid return on investment before we make any commitments.”
Nixon has stopped short of calling a special session in the Missouri legislature over a proposal. Typically, special sessions are called when consensus has already been reached, and in this case, there is none yet. Nixon said he planned to meet with legislative leaders this afternoon, but wouldn’t comment on what a proposal could look like.
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