Missouri lawmakers will be returning to Jefferson City on Monday at noon for a special session on three topics: tornado/storm assistance, legislation aimed at keeping the Chiefs and Royals in Missouri and $25-million in funding for a new research reactor at Mizzou.
Governor Mike Kehoe tells Capitol reporters that the Chiefs and Royals are an economic development issue:
“The Kansas City Chiefs and Royals are Missouri’s teams, they are Missouri’s teams. And they drive billions of dollars in economic activity through tourism, job creation and small business including hotels, restaurants and retails,” Governor Kehoe says.
The governor says the Show-Me Sports Investment Act will allow the Chiefs and Royals to bond an annual appropriation valued to their current state tax revenues. Kansas lawmakers in both parties have been trying to lure the Chiefs and Royals to the Sunflowers State.
Governor Kehoe has included a top priority of Mizzou officials and Columbia business leaders in next week’s special session: $25-million to plan and design a new research reactor at Mizzou. Governor Mike Kehoe notes MURR leads the nation in producing critical medical isotopes:
“MURR has developed life-saving medicines for patients around the world, and Missouri is proud to be home to this incredible nuclear resource. When you go into the lobby of MURR there’s a digital clock that shows how many lives they save a day by the radioisotopes they develop in that facility,” Kehoe says.
Mizzou officials signed a ceremonial agreement in April to partner with a consortium to build a new 20-megawatt state-of-the-art research reactor near south Columbia’s Discovery Ridge. The new reactor is expected to take eight to ten years to complete. Mizzou is partnering with a consortium that includes Hyundai Engineering America and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) for the design and licensing of the new reactor.
Governor Kehoe’s special session call also includes specific legislation aimed at helping Missourians impacted by recent tornadoes and storms across Missouri.
