JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday that aims to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri.
The bill, which includes the "Show Me Sports Investment Act" is the state's latest attempt at preventing two of Kansas City's most valuable professional franchises from leaving for Kansas.
The bill would allow up to 50% of stadium construction bond costs to be paid back with tax money generated at the stadiums.
Part of the bill's language states that the projects for both stadiums must cross certain thresholds. The projects must cost more than $500 million and have a capacity of over 30,000 seats.
The bill passed the House Economic Development Committee Tuesday, following passage from the Senate last week during a special legislative session.
The House floor voted 90-58 in favor, with this being the second iteration the House passed. During the regular session, The House passed an amendment in May to Senate Bill 80, but it ultimately failed in the Senate.
This specific bill came with notable disagreements. Democratic Rep. Emily Weber cited the economic benefits this bill will bring.
"People are traveling. They're doing roadtrips. They're stopping in your districts," Weber said. "They're gassing up. They're buying food from your restaurants. They're stopping in your shops. They're visiting our state."
On the other side, some representatives like Republican Rep. Bryant Wolfin argue the bill lacks constitutional authority after property tax relief was added.
"It's clearly not conservative. It's definitely not constitutional," Wolfin said. "It's absolutely not limited-government. And quite frankly, it's surely not republican."
Lawmakers introduced an amendment to the bill on the House floor Wednesday, but the amendment was rejected.
Funding for MURR, St. Louis tornado victims passes
The House also passed bills authorizing disaster relief for St. Louis, as well as capital projects across the state, including funding for the research reactor at the University of Missouri.
The bills passed quickly after the House went into session Wednesday.
The bills provide $125 million for disaster relief in the St. Louis area and expedite the disbursement of funds from the Missouri Housing Trust Fund for emergency aid.
One piece of legislation also restores funding for revenue projects that House lawmakers left out of the budget in the regular session.
This includes $50 million for the MU Research Reactor and $48 million for a mental health hospital in Kansas City.
Bills head to governor
The bills passed Wednesday now head to Gov. Mike Kehoe's desk, fulfilling key requests the governor gave to lawmakers when he called the special session.
Kehoe, in his amended call for the special session last week, asked lawmakers to bring the amount allocated for MURR back up to $50 million, as well as adding $100 million for storm disaster relief.
Talks of a special session arose after the House, in a stunning move, left out a bill with funding for MURR and other projects from the state budget. The governor's plan to keep the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri also ran into bipartisan opposition in the Senate in the regular legislative session.
