The state of Missouri’s largest manufacturing organization applauds all groups that came together for the quick passage of Senate Bill 1, a package of incentives drawn up to bring the Boeing 777x airliner manufacturing project to Missouri.
The Missouri House Friday morning voted in a 127-20-2 bipartisan manner to send the legislation on to Governor Nixon for his signature.
“Associated Industries applauds today’s passage of an incentive package that will, according to Gov. Nixon, allow Missouri to present a competitive proposal for a large commercial aircraft project,” said AIM president Ray McCarty. “We have heard from our supplier manufacturers that this project could present an opportunity for many of them to mitigate the impact of federal sequestration and defense budget cuts. With some retooling, these manufacturers may be able to make parts for commercial aircraft and allow these employers to sustain themselves and grow.”
McCarty said manufacturers in towns large and small can and should be able to benefit from the legislation.
“Many of these supplier manufacturers are located outside the major metropolitan areas and are important employers in local economies across Missouri. Associated Industries of Missouri is happy the legislature has taken this action and looks forward to advocating for broad based tax relief for all Missouri employers in the upcoming legislative session,” said McCarty.
Under Missouri’s proposal, the amount of incentives Boeing gets would depend on the number of jobs created.
Supporters of the incentive package say Missouri could gain 8,000 additional Boeing jobs if it chooses to assemble the new commercial airplane in Missouri, and 2,000 to 3,000 jobs if Boeing decides to build only the airplane wings in St. Louis. Thousands of additional employees could be added at businesses that supply parts to Boeing.
Boeing could get an aggregate of about $435 million of incentives by 2040 if it adds 2,000 jobs in Missouri and up to $1.74 billion if it adds about 8,000 jobs, according to an analysis released by Governor Jay Nixon’s office.
“We can keep up this false idea of picking winners and losers,” said Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst (R-St. Louis) during House debate Friday morning. “What the Missouri legislature is doing today is picking the winner. And that winner is Missouri.”
The bill now moves on to Governor Jay Nixon’s desk. It was Nixon who called the special session and his staff worked to draw up the bill’s language. With Nixon’s signature, the state’s offer to Boeing will be in the company’s hands well before the deadline of Tuesday, December 10. The company says it will make its decision sometime early in the first quarter 2014.
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