JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – State Rep. Adrian Plank of Boone County has issued a forceful condemnation of House Bill 2711, calling the proposal a “slap in the face” to working families and local communities across the state.
Speaking on the House floor, the lawmaker said the bill would hand a massive tax break to telecommunications giant AT&T while shifting the financial burden onto everyday Missourians.
“I speak on behalf of the people of Rocheport, Boone County and every Missourian who is tired of being treated like a piggy bank for multi-billion-dollar corporations,” Plank said. “This bill asks us to reward a company that reported more than $46 billion in profit in 2025, while taking critical resources away from our schools, libraries and fire districts.”
According to the bill’s fiscal note, HB 2711 would cost Missouri local governments more than $9 million annually beginning in fiscal year 2028. Plank warned that the measure would force localities to make up the difference by raising taxes on other property owners.
“That’s Jefferson City talk for ‘raising taxes on everyone else,’” Plank said. “The current majority wants to give a tax break to a corporate giant and then turn around and hike the property taxes of a farmer in Howard County or a nurse in Columbia? That isn’t leadership, that’s a betrayal.”
Rep. Plank also highlighted concerns over what he described as a pattern of broken promises from AT&T, particularly in rural broadband and infrastructure development. In Rocheport, a cell tower project first contracted more than seven years ago remains unfinished.
“Seven years ago, AT&T promised to complete a tower in my district,” Plank said. “After repeated follow-ups, shifting timelines and eventually no response at all, that project has simply disappeared from their schedule. My constituents are still dealing with dead zones and dial-up speeds.”
Over the past decade, Missouri taxpayers have provided nearly $182 million in subsidies to AT&T.
“If a contractor took your money, failed to do the work, and then asked for more, you wouldn’t reward them, you’d show them the door,” Plank said. “So why are we being asked to double down on a company that hasn’t delivered on its commitments”?
The lawmaker urged colleagues to reject the bill and instead prioritize investments in local communities and essential services.
“We should be protecting our schools, our libraries and the Boone County Fire Protection District, not cutting their funding to boost corporate profits,” Plank said. “My constituents aren’t asking for much. They just want the tower they were promised seven years ago.”
The Republican-controlled Missouri House passed HB 2711 Thursday by a vote of 91 to 46. It now advances to the Senate.
Key Facts:
- Total taxpayer subsidies to AT&T in Missouri over the past decade: $181,996,418.
- AT&T 2025 adjusted EBITDA (aka “profits”): $46.4 billion.
- Estimated annual loss to Missouri local governments under HB 2711: $9,253,990 per year.
- The Rocheport cell tower project was contracted in 2019 and remains incomplete and removed from build schedule as of this news release.
- The bill’s estimated cost, or fiscal note, estimates the revenue losses may result in increased tax rates on other property owners.
Rep. Adrian Plank is a Democrat, representing the 47th District which includes western and northwestern Boone County.