The legislature heads back to the state Capitol today to try and pass incentives to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri before time runs out – if it hasn’t already.
Gov. Mike Kehoe has called state lawmakers back for a special session to pass a plan that would help the teams to build new stadiums. His special session call says Missouri is “in serious jeopardy” of losing the teams to Kansas.
“The departure of our professional sports teams to Kansas could result in significant setbacks to Missouri’s competitive standing as a sought-after destination for tourism, business investment, and job creation,” said Kehoe’s proclamation.
Missouri is cutting it close – Kansas has offered the teams a deal to relocate across the border. That offer expires at the end of this month.
The Chiefs have also said the team plans to make a decision this month on its future location.
Meanwhile, an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals has bought the mortgage belonging to a 207-acre business office complex in Kansas. The Aspira campus is located in Overland Park and has been rumored to be one of the sites the Royals were considering for building a new ballpark. But a social media statement from the Royals says the team has “not yet decided on a site,” and that “any assertion to the contrary is inaccurate.”
Will Missouri lawmakers play ball and get a deal done quickly? That could be tough.
There is friction from the final days of this year’s regular session that is likely going to spill over into the special session. The tension is between Senate Democrats and Republicans, as well as the House and Senate.
It goes back to when the Missouri House killed HB 19, a $513 million spending bill with several infrastructure projects. That didn’t sit well with some lawmakers, especially senators, who were blindsided by the last-minute move. The projects included upgrades to local hospitals, roads, bridges, airports, ports, water treatment plants, and railroad crossings.
Some Senate Democrats have voiced concerns about the timing of the incentives package. A couple days after representatives killed HB 19, the House asked the Senate to back an incentives package to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri. The Senate blocked a vote on the incentives.
Furthermore, some Senate Democrats are not over the way Senate Republicans ended the final day of the regular session by forcing two back-to-back votes on proposals to overturn paid sick leave requirements and an abortion ballot measure. They were staunchly against reversing the paid sick leave mandates and even attempted to block the signing of that bill and many others last week.
In addition, there is resistance among some ultra conservative Missouri lawmakers. In a statement posted to social media, the Freedom Caucus promises to use any tools at their disposal to block tax incentives from being handed over to “billionaire owners,” unless the bill includes “broad-based tax relief for all taxpayers” in Missouri.
The Missouri Legislature passed a wide-ranging tax cut package this year, HB 594. What other tax cut measures the Freedom Caucus want is unknown.
It would not be out of the realm of possibility for Senate Democrats to team up with the Freedom Caucus to block the package until they get what they want.
Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, R-Shelbina, said she wants to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
“If we’re going to be looking at something that can attract the Chiefs and Royals to stay in the state, which I would like to do that, then it has to be a net positive for the people of the state. And there are various forms and abilities to do that,” she told Missourinet. “The Chiefs and the Royals bring in an awful lot of business to the state of Missouri, and they’re also big employers. And it’s not unusual for a state to offer economic incentives for big business.”
O’Laughlin said the teams want to be located in a nicer area.
“If you’ve been to either the Chiefs or the Royals, which, you know, who hasn’t at some point, you realize that they’re located in really kind of a blighted area of the state,” she said.
In Kehoe’s news release about the special session, it says the economic impact of retaining the Chiefs and Royals includes:
• The Kansas City Chiefs contribute $575 million annually in economic value and over 4,500 jobs in Jackson County alone, bringing the State of Missouri nearly $30 million in annual tax revenue.
• A new Royals ballpark district is expected to support 8,400 jobs and generate $1.2 billion in economic output annually.
House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, said she is passionate about keeping the Chiefs and Royals.
“It is just far too difficult to calculate the enormous loss that Missouri would suffer if we didn’t have the Chiefs and the Royals here. And not only from an economic development standpoint, but when we talk about all of the things that make Kansas City and frankly the region incredible, it is that we have amenities like world class sports teams. When we’re talking about recruiting top talent to our city, when we’re talking about recruiting the best businesses to our city, it includes, you know, as part of that equation, having the Chiefs and the Royals stay in Kansas City. So my intention is to do whatever we can to make that happen,” said Aune.
The special session will also focus on providing state aid to tornado victims and funding for infrastructure projects around the state that were killed in HB 19.
O’Laughlin and Aune are on the same page about finding ways to help disaster victims.
“We have a state that has kind of been torn apart by storms here lately that have just been kind of nonstop. St. Louis has taken a pretty big hit. Southern Missouri has just had an onslaught of flooding and tornadoes,” said O’Laughlin.
Aune said disaster victims need direct immediate relief and that should come in a variety of forms.
The governor’s special session call includes:
• Legislation to create an income tax deduction for insurance policy deductibles incurred by Missouri victims of recent severe weather.
• Deductions shall not exceed $5,000 per household per disaster in any calendar year.
• Legislation to expand eligibility and speed up aid from the Missouri Housing Trust Fund to families impacted by recent severe weather.
• Designated $25 million to the Missouri Housing Trust Fund for general administration of affordable housing activities and to expand income eligibility for emergency aid.
• Enacting legislation to extend the deadline on tax credits for amateur sporting events.
• Designating $25 million for the University of Missouri Research Reactor.
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