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President Obama to visit Kansas City Friday

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President Barack Obama will be in Kansas City Friday, visiting the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo.

President Barack Obama (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The White House says in a press release that he “continue to highlight the progress we have made since the beginning of the financial crisis five years ago and the work that lies ahead to continue strengthening our economy and deliver a Better Bargain for the Middle Class.”

No other details are available at this time.

This will be the President’s second visit to Western Missouri this year, after coming to the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg on July 24. (Read the story and hear his speech HERE.)

 

Ford likes Claycomo but won’t publicly commit (AUDIO)

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Legislators looking for some kind of definite positive public sign from Ford before they start the special session to consider tax breaks for it will not get a definite no or a definite yes.

A Ford spokesman has approached the line but would not cross it.

The basic question is whether Ford will start making a new line of vehicles at the Claycomo plant if the state gives it tax incentives. Ford’s Manager of Corporate Communications, John Stoll, says tax breaks are only one of the things Ford will consider when it decides where to produce one of the several new lines of vehicles it will start building. . [Read more…]

40 groups to unite to lobby special session (AUDIO)

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Business and labor interests don’t care how it’s paid for–they just want the legislature to pass a bill in the next few days giving tax breaks to Ford although Ford has made no public commitments to keep an automobile line there.

Ford will not continue building Escape SUVs at Claycomo past the fall of 2011. New generation Escapes will be built in Kentucky. Unless Ford starts producing a new vehicle there, the only thing happening at Claycomo will be one shift of workers building F-150 pickups. [Read more…]

Nixon: legislators asked for early start of session

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Governor Nixon has called the legislature into special session a little earlier than he thought he would. But he says legisaltive leaders suggested this as the time to take up pension reform and an automotive industry economic devleopment bill.

“We jhave kept them in the loop on this and it was the legislative leaders that felt like we should move ahead a little quicker than what I thought.. I certainly think it’s a good sign when a bipartisan group of Democrats and Republicans ‘le’ts go ahead and get this done,'” he says. [Read more…]

Special legislative session called (AUDIO)

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Governor Nixon is calling the legislature into session next Thursday to pass two bills. One is an economic development bill aimed at keeping Ford’s Claycomo plant in full operation. The other is a bill changing the state employees pension system in a way that lets the state pay for the tax concessions it would give Ford.

Senate floor leader Kevin Engler expects the session to be a quick one. He hopes an agreement can be made on the two bills before the session starts, letting the House pass the bills to the Senate by Tuesday, the 29th. If that happens, Engler hopes the Senate can send them to the Governor on July 1st and end the special session. [Read more…]

Special legislative session to convene June 24

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Gov. Jay Nixon today called a special session of the General Assembly to pass legislation to support and strengthen Missouri’s automobile manufacturing and supplier industry.  The session will convene at noon, Thursday, June 24.Nixon’s official call for special session [PDF]

“Automobile manufacturers and suppliers employ thousands of Missourians in every corner of the state, and it’s vital that Missouri remain a hub of automotive production for generations to come,” Nixon says. “As America’s auto manufacturers reconfigure their operations to produce next-generation vehicles, it is absolutely critical that we are able to compete for the auto jobs of tomorrow.  The Missouri Automotive Manufacturing Jobs Act will give us the ability to bring cutting-edge automotive jobs to our state, and I call on the General Assembly to send this important bill to my desk.”

[Read more…]

Special session call imminent, Nixon indicates (AUDIO)

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Governor Nixon indicates he and state legislators are close to a consensus needed for a special legislative session to pass an important economic development bill.

Nixon and legislative leaders took each other’s pulses yesterday morning and Nixon says the signs are improving. He has indicated he could call the special session “by the end of the week,” acknowledging that he was speaking to reporters yesterday. [Read more…]

Legislative leaders remain open about special session (AUDIO)

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Legislative leaders seem open to a special session, but its success is dependent on agreement that couldn’t be reached at the end of the regular session.

House Speaker Ron Richard, a Republican from Joplin, says the House is anxious to approve the Missouri Automotive Manufacturing Jobs Act. [Read more…]

Gov. Nixon will call special session if consensus is reached (AUDIO)

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Governor Nixon could call a special legislative session if legislative leaders can reach agreement on a bill that died the last day of the regular session.

Nixon is cautious about calling the legislature to return to Jefferson City.

“I wouldn’t want to bring the legislature back into session unless we had broad, bi-partisan consensus to do so,” Nixon told members of the Capitol Press Corps prior to leaving his office for appearances in Columbia and North Kansas City. [Read more…]

State representative wants Nixon to call special session for Ford (AUDIO)

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Rep. Jerry Nolte and Rep. Tim Flook consult with Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt

Rep. Jerry Nolte (left) and Rep. Tim Flook consult with Speaker Pro Tem Bryan Pratt

A state representative has written Governor Nixon, requesting a special session to re-consider an incentive package aimed at keeping full production at the Ford plant in Kansas City.

A proposed deal to win approval of the Manufacturing Jobs Act collapsed in the last hour of the legislative session. The act was attached to several pieces of legislation. Nolte held out the most hope for SB 773, which could have been approved by the Senate and sent to the governor. The Senate, though, resisted. Then, the Senate tied passage of that legislation with approval in the House of the pension overall bill. This time, the House resisted. The deal fell through.

Representative Jerry Nolte of Gladstone doesn’t want to see the idea die.

“What I’m asking the governor to do is to call a special session so we could re-consider some of the economic, job-creating legislation that we were unable to get passed, more specifically the Manufacturing Jobs Act,” Nolte tells the Missourinet in a telephone interview.

Ford employs 3,700 workers at its Claycomo Plant, making the F-150 pick-up and the Ford Escape. The Escape line will end soon. Other states hope to lure production of its successor away from Missouri. Nolte says Missouri is at a disadvantage in competing with states such as Kentucky and Michigan, which have both made pitches to Ford.

The House approved the Manufacturing Jobs Act as HB 1675 in February. It would allow manufacturers and their suppliers to keep a percentage of their withholding taxes. To qualify, the business would have to make at least a $100,000 capital investment per full-time employee to make a new product. Suppliers could even qualify for a sweeter tax break.

Nolte worries that losing one production line could be the beginning of the end at Claycomo.

“Then I think we run the distinct risk of having it just spiral down until at some point, in the relatively near future, we may well not see production there again,” Nolte says. “While that is speculative, I don’t think it is alarmist or outside the realm of possibility.”

The tax incentive would apply to more than Ford, though Nolte says the urgency in calling a special session is driven by Ford. He says an executive decision likely will be made this year, well before the legislature re-convenes in January.

AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:60 MP3]