Missouri state Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, has offered legislation that he says could bring a steady international trade route from China – and possibly elsewhere – to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. In the process, the measure could provide needed incentives to put to use some of the region’s idle or under-utilized complexes – such as the former Chrysler Plant or the NorthPark Business Park.
The bill has a broad set of supporters. It’s won plaudits from business groups, some rural lawmakers and Democrats. And it passed out of a Senate committee without opposition.
“A lot of what we do is reallocation. What we do is move pieces from one side of the chessboard to the other,” Schmitt said. “This is new. This is new investment. This is new economic activity that we just don’t have.”
Federal, state and local officials have been jockeying to establish a “China hub” at Lambert for years. They argue Lambert, which doesn’t have as much runway traffic as Chicago, could be China’s cargo gateway to the Midwest.
Schmitt’s legislation would provide up to $60 million in tax credits for companies shipping exports out of Missouri, which Schmitt said is a way of steering cargo away from cities such as Chicago.
The bill also would provide roughly $420 million of incentives to build warehouses and distribution centers within a 50-mile radius of Lambert. That aspect of the bill, which Schmitt said is “critical” for the hub’s “sustainability,” is aimed at bolstering infrastructure.
NorthPark, a 550-acre complex east of Lambert, stands to benefit greatly. State Rep. Clem Smith, the Democrat from Velda Village Hills whose district includes part of NorthPark, said the legislation could go a long way toward developing the compound.
“It could be a logistics hub for moving products that come in from wherever – whether it’d be China, India or Europe,” Smith said. “And [it could be] a warehousing hub. We’ve got a lot of acreage that’s sitting there that’s ready to go.”
Dick Fleming, the president and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, wrote in his association’s March newsletter that Schmitt’s legislation would be “groundbreaking.”
Some rural lawmakers have embraced the bill as a way of helping agriculture. State Rep. Caleb Jones, R-California, is sponsoring a similar bill in the House, while cosponsors for Schmitt’s bill include rural lawmakers such as state Sens. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown and Bill Stouffer, R-Napton.
“Most people wouldn’t expect a rural country lawyer to be filing a bill that affects an airport in St. Louis,” Jones said. “And that speaks a lot to the gravity of the bill. It’s not just going to affect St. Louis. This is a bill that’s going to affect the entire state and likely states around us, too.”
Schmitt said complexes that fall under the bill could be used to store meat that could be sent to China, a sentiment echoed by Munzlinger.
“Agriculture’s one of the largest industries we’ve got in this state,” said Munzlinger, whose district encompasses much of northeast Missouri. “And I see this as a major, major export enhancement that we can offer to ag producers in this state.”
Even though Schmitt’s legislation is supported by what would seem to be a broad coalition, it still could face a difficult legislative path. That’s because a group of senators in the past few sessions have tried to curtail tax credits.
State Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, said without tax credit “reforms” – which he said would include phasing out or placing caps on existing programs – there’s very little chance of it getting out of the Senate.
“You can’t keep spending new until you reform what’s in place today,” Lager said.
Edited and reprinted with permission from a story that appeared on www.stlbeacon.org.