The General Assembly will return to work Monday with questions about whether partisan feuding in the state Senate can be set aside to address special session agenda
BY: RUDI KELLER
Missouri Independent
Disaster recovery, sports stadiums and major capital improvement projects will be on the agenda for a special legislative session that will begin June 2, Gov. Mike Kehoe said Tuesday.
At a news conference, Kehoe said he has spoken to legislative leaders in hopes they can act quickly on all three items and set aside hard feelings from the regular session that ended May 15.
“There are some raw nerves out there and some wounded feelings, and I’m asking them to consider that these initiatives that we will put before them are very time sensitive and very needy, especially when it comes to the disaster relief” funding, Kehoe said.
A litany of other projects across Missouri that were depending on state funding will not be considered, Kehoe said, including at least two hospitals facing potential closure.
Under the Missouri Constitution, lawmakers have 60 days to complete work on items in a special session and Kehoe said he won’t try to impose an artificial deadline. But the items on his list all need quick action, he said, especially help for people who lost homes and suffered injuries in the May 16 St. Louis tornado.
“I’m also asking them to consider the tragedy that some of these families have faced in these disasters,” Kehoe said.
To help people recovering from tornadoes, flooding and other storms this spring, Kehoe is asking lawmakers to put $25 million into the Missouri Housing Trust Fund and increase the income eligibility threshold for emergency grants. He also wants to enact a tax deduction of up to $5,000 to cover insurance deductibles for people trying to rebuild.
Other items on the agenda are:
- State support for a new Kansas City Royals baseball stadium and major upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Kansas City Chiefs. The plan is the same one he unveiled during the final week of the regular legislative session, where it won a strong vote in the Missouri House before dying in the Senate amid bitterness on other bills.
- Extend the deadline for tax credits related to major amateur sporting events.
- Allocate $25 million of general revenue funding for the University of MIssouri’s research reactor project and $185 million in funding from other sources for capital improvement projects that include a new mental health hospital in Kansas City and new livestock show barn at the Missouri State Fair.
Senate Majority Leader Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican, said the items in the call for a special session are all things lawmakers should cooperate on.
Because of the acrimony in the Senate, all legislation for the special session will start in the upper chamber, Kehoe said, with the House debating whatever bills can make it through.
“The governor’s call focuses on providing disaster relief to families devastated by recent storms, funding cancer research at our state’s flagship university, and keeping Missouri’s beloved professional sports teams in our state,” Luetkemeyer said. “I’m hopeful the Senate will rise to the occasion.”
Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, a Democrat from Affton, could not be reached for comment.
Missouri is still waiting for federal action on a request for disaster assistance through FEMA for the May 16 tornado.
On Friday, President Donald Trump approved Missouri’s request to declare disasters for southeast Missouri counties hit March 14 and again during the first week of April.
The tornado cut a 23-mile-long path, touching down in the affluent suburb of Clayton before ripping through the north side of the city of St. Louis then across the Mississippi River through communities in western Illinois. At least five people were killed, 38 more were injured, and about 5,000 structures were damaged with property losses estimated at more than $1.6 billion.
“I’ve been on the phone, and Adam Gresham in our office and others have been on the phone with the White House constantly on these events,” Kehoe said, explaining his efforts to secure federal aid.
Federal disaster response nationwide has slowed under Trump, causing lawmakers from many states to urge the president to release funding for their states.
“I’m very happy that we got what we got, because you saw some other states not get approved,” Kehoe said.
Stadium funding plan
The plan for the Chiefs and Royals would take tax money already generated from activities at the stadiums — $28.8 million annually as estimated by the Chiefs and $15 million annually by an estimate from the Royals — and commit it to bond payments for 30 years for the new or upgraded facilities.
The economic activity associated with the Chiefs supports 4,500 jobs, Kehoe contends, and a new stadium for the Royals would generate about 8,400 jobs. Missouri should treat the teams like any other major employer, he said.
“This is the same amount of revenue the state stands to lose if either team relocates to any other state,” Kehoe said. “But local support is still critical in this effort, and this plan will require local contributions, so I’m asking legislators to work with us to keep these businesses in the state where they belong, the state of Missouri.”
Both the Chiefs and Royals have publicly expressed interest in moving from Missouri to Kansas after Jackson County voters rejected a proposal last year to extend a 3/8-cent sales tax to help finance a downtown Kansas City baseball stadium and upgrades to Arrowhead.
Kansas lawmakers responded by expanding a tax incentive program in the hopes of convincing one or both teams to relocate. The leases for both teams’ Jackson County stadiums run through the end of the 2030 season.
Kansas expects an answer by the end of June, creating the pressure for a special session.
The limited funding Kehoe proposed for construction spending means several projects he championed during the legislative session — and more than 60 added by lawmakers — won’t be funded.
The only general revenue project remaining in the bill under Kehoe’s plan is $25 million to support construction of a new research reactor at MU. That is half of what he sought originally and was cut to allow spending on disaster aid.
The more than 60 projects added by lawmakers ranged from $60,000 for a county maintenance shed in Dallas County to $20 million for redeveloping an historic business district in Cape Girardeau and $20 million to support a new convention center complex in Jefferson City.
Kehoe said he thinks he can limit the message to lawmakers outlining the special session agenda to just $50 million in general revenue spending and the projects funded from other sources, including the mental hospital and the livestock barn.
The limited funding will dash hopes from many agencies and communities that their project would get a second look. There are at least two hospitals facing potential closure if their funding is not included and a sheltered workshop in Salem that is operating at limited capacity following a devastating fire.
Kehoe said he understands the requests but wants to be careful with general revenue spending.
“The state budget years ahead are going to be challenging,” Kehoe said, “and the amount of general revenue that we have is something that I’m taking very seriously as a businessman, and what it’s going to take in future years.”