The Missouri House Tuesday gave final approval to legislation expanding Associated Industries of Missouri’s Manufacturing Jobs Act to all types of manufacturers.
By a margin of 87-63, House members voted to move the bill on to the State Senate. The Manufacturing Infrastructure Investment Act, is handled by Rep. Nick King (R-Liberty). It is designed to follow up on the success of the Missouri Manufacturing Jobs Act of 2010. A series of incentives that encourage businesses to invest in new products and increased production lines of manufacturing, the Manufacturing Jobs Act has spurred an automotive industry renaissance in Missouri that has seen phenomenal growth at Ford Motor Company in Claycomo, the General Motors plant in Wentzville, and at small and mid size manufacturers throughout the state that provide parts to the automakers in Missouri and beyond.
Statistics published by the Missouri Economic Research Information Center show that manufacturers and suppliers in the automotive industry in Missouri have invested $1.29 billion in capital investments, added or retained 14,000 jobs and supported an additional 21,000 jobs since the original Manufacturing Jobs Act was passed in 2010.
House Bill 627 would allow manufacturers that make significant infrastructure investments to make new products or expand manufacturing of existing products to retain withholding taxes on jobs retained at their facilities. Suppliers to participating facilities would be able to retain withholding taxes on new jobs created at their facilities, with a lower job requirement than is required under other programs.
The benefits are exactly the same as those provided to the auto industry. And taxpayers are protected because the investment amounts are significant and there are no tax credits associated with the program. AIM is proud to have authored this program and is working hard to pass it during the 2015 legislative session.
“What this is all about is creating more opportunities within the state, not specific to one industry,” said Rep. T.J. Berry (R-Kearney) during floor debate on the bill Tuesday.
In his closing comments during the Tuesday debate, Rep. King called attention to the benefits the state will derive from House Bill 267.
“According to the Department of Economic Development, over the next 15 years, the predecessor to this bill will produce $1,643,000,000 of additional revenue for the state,” said King. “We feel that if we open this up to the rest of the manufacturers of this state, they’ll do the same thing.”
“We applaud Rep. Nick King’s handling of this bill on behalf of all manufacturers in Missouri and the people that work in the jobs they provide,” said Ray McCarty, president and CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri. “This is especially important to people working in manufacturing jobs in plants owned by companies with several locations. Very often, Missouri locations of such companies have not been able to compete for a new product or for the expanded production of an existing product. This bill would allow Missouri locations of these companies to compete by offering an incentive for investing in infrastructure to manufacture a new product or expand existing production in Missouri. This could be a real game changer, as it has been in the auto industry in Missouri. Investing in infrastructure is a financial commitment by a company to continue business in a location and that is extremely important to Missouri workers,” said McCarty.