Crowell: The Missouri House of Representatives is broken

In his latest Crowell Connection, Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, criticizes the House of Representatives for not passing the Senate's economic development package.

When it comes to passing economic development incentives as well as tax credit reforms, the Missouri House of Representatives is broken. During the current Special Session, the Senate listened to you, the taxpayer, and passed a “Taxpayer and Missouri Jobs First” bill, but now is stuck waiting for the House to do something. After receiving the Senate’s bill, House leadership has refused to allow its members a chance to vote on the bill, yet contends the Senate is the one holding up the process. We are the Show-Me State, it is time for House leadership to stop complaining to the press about the Senate and show us something.
In my opinion, the reason for this holdup is the Error-tropolis kool-aid drinkers continue to push, through back-room tactics, for the subsidization of the importation of China-made goods. This is why House leadership is preventing a vote on the Senate’s bill that ties incentives directly to jobs created, because they want to protect handouts to special interests and campaign contributors. While the Senate has twice, both during regular session and again during special session, passed a bill with meaningful tax credit reforms and now passed economic incentives tied to jobs, House leadership refuses to vote on any jobs and reform bill. Your calls and emails are vital in making House leadership understand that now is the time to pass the Senate bill that ties incentives to jobs and protects your hard-earned tax dollars from becoming developer welfare for campaign contributors.

This jobs and reforms package is important because in the past, the state has subsidized activity because of promised jobs. The special interests worked hard and continue to work hard lobbying and giving to campaigns to convince legislators, especially House leadership, that their tax credits would create jobs and enhance economic development. This influence led to politicians giving out hundreds of millions of your hard-earned tax dollars to Low Income Housing tax credits, Historic Preservation tax credits and Land Assemblage tax credits. However, while the awarding of tax credits increased over the last 13 years by 430.8 percent, equaling $545 million in 2011, the promised jobs have never been created.

That is because subsidized activity not tied to job creation fails to create jobs. All those tax credits did was line the pockets of wealthy developers who, with the help of the politicians, conned the Missouri taxpayer. It is clear that instead of job growth, Missouri’s return on investment was 21 cents for every dollar spent on Historic Preservation tax credits and 11 cents for every dollar spent on Low Income Housing tax credits. “Give me a dollar and I will give you 21 cents or 11 cents back.” You would never do that with your own money, and you should not allow the politicians to do such with your tax dollars.

Yet this has been the state’s economic plan, and the House is trying to pass it again. For example, when redeveloping Schultz School Senior Housing in Cape Girardeau, we were told that if we subsidized the project, jobs would come and economic development would occur. However, after spending $373,000 an apartment unit in Low Income Housing and Historic Preservation tax credits, permanent jobs did not. Giving $16.7 million of your tax dollars to rehab 45 units for 11 – 21 cents on the dollar return is outrageous. Throughout the course of the special session though, there was an awakening that occurred with State Senators; they listened to your demands for responsible use of your hard earned tax dollars. “We must tie incentives to job creation, not activities that may or may not create jobs.”

The removal of $300 million in Aerotropolis warehouse tax credits from the special session is acknowledgement of this key principle. It is wrong, with our country facing massive manufacturing job losses to China, to make the central component of a “Made in Missouri” jobs plan the subsidization of the importation of China-made goods. Now though that the battle has moved to the House, where House leaders, who put their campaign accounts above Missourians, have said we must give $300 million to China importation warehouses and are working in the shadows of back rooms to craft a bill to do exactly that.

The bill that passed the Senate, which House leaders oppose, also included real tax credit reforms saving taxpayers $947 million over 15 years. It caps and sunsets both the Historic Preservation tax credit and Low Income Housing tax credit. The reforms also include clawbacks for failing to create jobs. We now would have the ability to recapture any tax credits given out for noncompliance with the requirements, which specifically include creating the new jobs promised. We have succeeded in the Senate, but your continued support and help is need so we can win the House and beat back the special interests and developers House leaders covet.