It could come down to just a few votes on whether the Missouri House of Representatives passes a bill that would provide funding for stadium projects for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs.
House of Representatives Republican Speaker Pro-Tem Chad Perkins of Bowling Green calls this “a very unique situation where the votes are not going to be on party lines.”
Perkins told Missourinet Tuesday afternoon he had not decided how he will vote on the bill, and he expects the vote to be close. The timeline is urgent due to an offer from the Kansas Legislature would use sales tax dollars to pay up to 70 percent of a project, should either team relocate to Kansas, however, that deal expires at the end of this month.
“I met with the governor yesterday about some issues that are important to me that I want to have some attention brought to. For me, its rural healthcare at the moment,” said Perkins.
“Water, sewer, infrastructure issues that some little towns are struggling within my area. That’s important to me. We will meet again this afternoon on some issues. So, you try to make the best deal possible for your constituents, and if you’re not doing that, I think you’re doing a disservice to them. So, no, I’m undecided still at this moment,” he said.
“There will be Republicans that vote for it and those that don’t. There will be Democrats that vote for it and those that don’t. Voters of Jackson County voted this down. So, to say it’s very popular in Kansas City, I don’t know that’s true. And the folks in the St. Louis area who are incredibly skeptical about it because they still got burned by the Rams. I don’t know where your solid pockets of support come from and where your solid dissenters come from. It’s a very interesting mixed bag.’
A House Committee passed the bill on Tuesday afternoon with a vote in the full House set for Wednesday. The Missouri Senate passed the bill last week with 19 voting for it and 13 against it.
The bill allows team owners to defer paying state taxes from games and professional player income taxes, in order to share the cost of stadium rebuilds. It also includes property tax cuts for certain counties, to be voted on locally. This was added to the bill to win the votes of members of the Senate Republican Freedom Caucus. This section met some bipartisan pushback in Tuesday’s hearings.
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