JEFFERSON CITY – The Missouri State Senate has approved a proposal to entice Boeing to bring production for its 777X project, a new commercial airplane, to St. Louis. Today, the Senate passed Senate Bill 1 offering the company upwards of $150 million a year for 23 years in performance-based incentives. Senate Leader Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, said this package will create jobs throughout the state.

“The incentives are crafted to require Boeing to build infrastructure and hire employees before they would reap any benefits in the form of tax reductions,” said Dempsey. “This was a bipartisan effort to bring thousands of good-paying jobs to the Show-Me State.”

Senate Bill 1 combines four existing tax incentives and job training programs to create the incentive, and also requires the “aerospace project” to create at least 2,000 new jobs. Estimates show the project could create up to 8,000 direct jobs.

Bill sponsor, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, said these programs are designed to make sure the corporation makes a significant investment in Missouri first before earning the incentives.

“We don’t have anything like this project in Missouri,” said Schmitt. “This proposal will allow us to compete for thousands of direct jobs and tens of thousands of indirect jobs by way of suppliers and construction jobs all across the state. These are high-quality, high-paying jobs. If the jobs don’t come, then the incentives are not given.”

Missouri is not the only state in the running for the commercial plane project. The governor announced earlier this week that several labor councils in St. Louis have agreed to make construction workers available around-the-clock in three, eight-hour shifts. That agreement would also speed up construction on the new potential Boeing facility.

Majority Floor Leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin, said the incentive package was crucial to keep Missouri in the running.

“Bringing the Boeing project to our state would be a huge gain for our workforce and would spin off innumerable other positive benefits throughout the entire state,” said Richard.
The bill now moves to the House for consideration.  To learn more about this bill or to track its progress, visit www.senate.mo.gov.