February 12, 2008 - The Missouri Senate today took up, but did not pass, SB 718, an economic development bill sponsored by Senator Harry Kennedy (D-1, St. Louis).Debate focused on an amendment to the bill offered by Senator Scott Rupp (R-2, St. Charles) that would establish a letter ruling procedure for the New Markets Tax Credit program. Letter rulings would be issued by the Department of Economic Development based on particular facts submitted by the applicant. The ruling would determine whether a particular investor and investment would qualify for tax credits under the New Markets Tax Credit program. Currently, the Department of Revenue uses a similar process to rule on tax matters, but current law does not allow this process for economic development matters.
The bill was laid on the Informal Calendar so it may be further debated in future Senate sessions, possibly as early as Wednesday, February 13, 2008. The bill would increase the Quality Jobs program cap from $40 million to $60 million per year and the Enhanced Enterprise Zones program cap would increase from $14 million to $24 million. The bill would also extend the job retention tax credit portion of Quality Jobs to 2013. The job retention part of that program expired August 30, 2007.
If you are in favor of this bill, you should contact your Senator and let him/her know you support the bill.
