By Mike Henderson, Mo State Senator
JEFFERSN CITY – On May 27, the governor announced he was calling the General Assembly back to Jefferson City for an extraordinary session. A special purpose session, referred to as an “extraordinary” session in the state constitution, was called by the governor to provide resources to families affected by severe storms, drive economic development through a tax incentive program and make critical budget appropriations.
The General Assembly can only pass legislation related to topics the governor specifies in his call, so on June 4, the governor expanded his call to include legislation providing additional tools and funding for disaster relief, new property tax relief, a tax incentive program for economic development and additional funding for critical budget appropriations.
During the extra session, three bills were passed in the Missouri Senate that will need another round of approval from the Missouri House of Representatives before moving to the governor’s desk:
- Senate Bill 1funds several major construction projects included in House Bill 19that failed to make it through the legislative process this past session.
- Senate Bill 3creates the Show-Me Sports Investment Act to help fund new or renovated sports stadiums.
- Senate Bill 4authorizes the expedited disbursement of funds from the Missouri Housing Trust Fund for emergency aid.
I did not vote for SB 3 because I could not justify sending hundreds of millions of dollars to professional sports teams when our budget is getting ready to be much tighter and several other worthwhile projects around the state have gone unfunded.
The main goal of SB 3 was to give the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals a good reason to stay in our state. Do I want see them to move to Kansas? No, I do not. But, I also don’t believe Missouri citizens should foot the bill for their stadiums.
Thank you for your interest in the legislative process. Throughout the interim, please continue to contact my office with your concerns, questions and comments. I am here to serve you.
If I can be of any assistance with a state issue, please call my office at 573-751-4008 or email mike.henderson@senate.mo.gov.