Gov. Jay Nixon today visited with local business leaders and officials at Boeing to highlight Missouri Works, a comprehensive strategy to support economic growth and create career opportunities for Missourians. Missouri Works was included in House Bills 184 and 196, which go into effect today.
"Missouri Works consolidates and modernizes Missouri's economic incentives into a single, business-friendly program," Gov. Nixon said. "Making these programs easier to use, and easier to understand, will allow businesses to focus on creating jobs, instead of cutting through red tape."
Missouri Works consolidates Missouri's four existing business development incentives into a single program with a uniform set of definitions and a streamlined application process to cut through red tape. The Governor called for streamlining Missouri's economic incentive programs in his 2013 State of the State address earlier this year. Missouri Works also improves on existing programs by enabling more small businesses and businesses in rural areas to participate and providing targeted benefits to existing Missouri businesses.
Missouri Works also consolidates Missouri's workforce training programs into a single, streamlined program that is more closely aligned with the state's other economic development programs. It also targets workforce development resources more efficiently toward job placement and training for job-seekers.
"Our relentless focus on fiscal discipline, holding the line on taxes and creating jobs is paying off in real ways for Missouri families," Gov. Nixon said. "Today, our perfect AAA credit rating is intact, Missouri employers have added nearly 47,000 jobs over the past year, and Missouri had the third-fastest rate of technology job growth in the nation last year. Missouri Works is just the kind of strategic, fiscally responsible approach we need to build on this momentum and keep our economy moving forward."
Missouri Works implements recommendations of the Governor's Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth, an effort that engaged 600 business, education and labor leaders from across Missouri, including leadership from Boeing, to develop a comprehensive strategy to transform the state's economy. The Missouri Tax Credit Review Commission also recommended improving Missouri's existing economic development incentives by consolidating them into a single, business-friendly program designed to create jobs and encourage capital investment, while maintaining a positive return on investment.
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