‘Great day for Downtown St. Louis’: Greater St. Louis, Inc. releases statement after HB 3231 signed by Gov. Kehoe

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe has signed a bill to bolster development efforts across Missouri.

House Bill 3231 establishes the “Missouri Innovation, Public Safety and Accountability Act” while modifying provisions related to financial incentives for economic development.

“Missouri is open for business, growth, and opportunity,” said Governor Kehoe.“ The passage of House Bill 3231 was critical in our efforts to continue revitalizing Missouri’s main streets, central business districts, and downtowns. I want to thank the members of the General Assembly for supporting these economic development programs that lay the groundwork for long-term prosperity in communities across our state.”

The governor’s office noted the bill:

• Creates a new incentive within the Missouri Works program to encourage new capital investment over $50 million.
• Expands the tools available to encourage development in urban and rural communities by reauthorizing the Missouri Downtown Economic Stimulus Act (MODESA) and creating the Missouri Innovation Zone program to encourage investment in downtowns, central business districts, and main streets.
• Creates an angel investment tax credit to encourage investments in Missouri entrepreneurs and startup companies.

Greater St. Louis, Inc. Managing Partner Ron Kitchens released the following statement regarding the bill’s signing:

“Today is a great day for Downtown St. Louis, and we want to thank Governor Kehoe for signing this landmark legislation into law. This legislation has been a top priority of the business community, and over the past three years we have worked with our partners across the state in support of its passage.

“This law recognizes the critical importance of Downtown St. Louis to the state’s economy, catalyzing hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment in the economic engine of the state.

“In addition to Gov. Kehoe, we want to express our thanks to the bipartisan leadership team that made this possible, specifically Representatives Brad Christ and Chad Perkins, Senators Kurtis Gregory and Steven Roberts, and the leadership of the House and Senate.”