Special session could be next for Quality Jobs legislation

July 10, 2007 09:28 pm

— By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
On Tuesday, when Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt announced the state has given Joplin the final go-ahead for its Enhanced Enterprise Zone, state Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said there may be a chance to salvage the Quality Jobs legislation.
Blunt, last week, vetoed the Quality Jobs Act, saying it was loaded with “excessive spending” provisions that would have cost Missouri $200 million and would have created business incentives for questionable causes.
On Tuesday, Richard, who acknowledged his bill had become loaded down with amendments, said he thinks there is a chance to get a much “cleaner” bill onto the governor’s desk.
Richard said he intends to meet with other leading members of the Missouri House today to write a rough draft for a revised bill from the House position. After that, he said senate leaders will look over the revisions and, if approved, the General Assembly will ask Blunt for the special session. Richard said he hoped the revised bill would be finished before the veto session set for September.
Jessica Robinson, spokeswoman for Blunt’s office, said the governor is open to the possibility of a special session if legislators want to save those portions of the bill concerning New Market Tax Credits, the Quality Jobs Act and Enhanced Enterprise Zones.
“Those were the issues that had broad bi-partisan support,” Robinson said.
She also said Blunt will not approve a special session if legislators aren’t prepared to act quickly to pass a revised version of the bill.
Richard sponsored the first Quality Jobs Act in 2005, which Blunt credited with helping create more than 94,000 jobs in the state. Area companies such as EaglePicher, LaBarge and Prairie Pride have qualified for tax breaks under that legislation.
Enhanced Enterprise Zone
Meanwhile, Joplin officials said Tuesday they welcomed Blunt’s announcement that the Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved the Enhanced Enterprise Zone.
The zone, which offers tax incentives to eligible businesses, includes portions of 12 communities, six school districts and two counties. Boundaries for the new district stretch from the Kansas line to Missouri Highway 59 in Carthage, from Webb City on the north to Saginaw on the south.
Dick Largent, planning and community development manager for Joplin, said Tuesday that city officials valued the regional progress made with other cities and school districts needed to put the zone together.
“Anytime you’re dealing with tax abatement, they’re going to be affected,” Largent said of the schools. “But this shows we all have a vision for economic development and how important it is for the city.”
Rob O’Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, called the news about the EEZ a positive development because the current enterprise zones will expire in a few years. He also said the EEZ gives local officials more control over incentives offered to companies.
The EEZ Advisory Board can set a sliding scale of benefits for businesses moving into or expanding in the zone, so that tax breaks correlate to the size of the project.
Businesses employing 10 people at 80 percent of the county’s average wage would qualify for a 60 percent reduction in real-property taxes for 10 years. But an industry employing 750 people at 140 percent of the county’s average wage would qualify for the maximum 20-year, 100-percent tax break.
Benefits for businesses in the zone also include up to $1,200 in tax credits for each qualifying employee.
EEZ benefits cannot be applied to retail businesses, food and beverage establishments or gaming operations. Targeted industries for benefits are manufacturing and food processing, transportation and distribution, office/computer software, medical labs and commercial machinery repair.
Largent said the new AT&T call center being built near Interstate 44 and U.S. Highway 71 will benefit from the EEZ approval and he is currently working with another company that he wouldn’t name that he said could benefit from it as well.

All inclusive
Approved areas for the Enhanced Enterprise Zone include parts of Carthage, Webb City, Carterville, Duenweg, Duquesne, Fidelity, Dennis Acres, Shoal Creek Estates, Saginaw, Silver Creek and Joplin. The village of Loma Linda was dropped from the zone because of the lack of community support for the project.
Source: Dick Largent, planning and community development manager for the city of Joplin.

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