H.R. 610, sponsored by Congressman Russ Carnahan (3rd District), and co-sponsored by his Missouri colleagues Ike Skelton (4th District), Lacy Clay (1st District) and Emanuel Cleaver (5th District), must have increased local and bipartisan support!  Please write letters to the officials listed here and urge them to sponsor this important legislation!   

Sponsored by Commerce Bank and Spencer Fane Britt & Browne, LLP, the Missouri Coalition for Historic Preservation & Economic Development Kansas City fundraiser is scheduled for Thursday, March 27, 2008, from 5:30 to 7:30 in Commerce Bank's Walnut Lobby, 922 Walnut, Kansas City, Missouri.  Complimentary parking is available in the Tower Garage, 910 Walnut. 

Senate Bill 898, sponsored by Senator Dan Clemens, was amended by Senator Victor Callahan (D-20th) to include language that would sunset ALL tax credit programs in 2011!

House Bill 1551, sponsored by representative Bryan P. Stevenson (R-128th District) received a do pass vote on February 12, 2008.  It calls for a gradual elimination of the corporate income tax, with full implementation by January 1, 2013.

As long as historic preservation is viewed as a "cause" rather than an ongoing conversation about the value of the built environment, it will not have the meaning that it should.

The 2007 Legislative Session ended on May 18, 2007.  The Historic Tax Credit survived the session, but not without a number of close calls.  For example, Senator Lager (R-Maryville) proposed an amendment to sunset all tax credit programs, which would have been a direct hit to the Historic Tax Credit and Rebuilding Communities Credit.  This amendment initially slipped through the House and could have been enacted had it not been for the watchful eyes of our lobbyist. As we all know, a sunset on the Historic Tax Credit would destroy this successful economic development tool.

When Jeff Neal bought the Columbia Traders building near Fifth and Main streets three years ago, he admits the idea of reusing historic buildings in an effort to save downtown districts and make a profit was “dicey” at best, and says it still is in many ways. “We shopped a business plan for a year before we found a bank that would bite,” Neal said.

But standing next to two other men during Friday’s Regional Economic Summit at Missouri Southern State University who have made the downtown-loft concept work in other parts of the state, Neal said the idea of sustainability is growing in popularity.