March 03, 2009 09:34 am
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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two Missouri lawmakers filed legislation Monday to issue $700 million in bonds to pay for college campus building projects.
Rep. Chris Kelly, one of the measure’s sponsors, said there is tremendous need and the timing is perfect because part of the federal stimulus package could cover 35 percent of the interest costs and the recession makes construction cheaper.
“We have an economic crisis on our hands,” said Kelly, D-Columbia. “We need to put plumbers, and carpenters and earth-mover guys to work now. That money will reverberate throughout the economy, and we’re not doing just make-work projects, we’re doing really important stuff.”
Kelly filed the legislation with House Majority Leader Steven Tilley, R-Perryville.
If approved by lawmakers, the measure would need to be passed by the voters. The money could be used for building renovations and additions, plus acquiring the land, planning, furnishing, equipping and landscaping for the structures.
The proposal is limited to buildings on college campuses though it could be broadened to other state buildings.
Kelly said the legislation currently would cover the top construction need at every four-year and two-year school except for the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. Kelly said those two schools already have had their top needs covered by a plan that used assets from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority to pay for campus construction.
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