JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — At a recent meeting of the House Development Commission, members of Gov. Jay Nixon’s staff made an interesting request. They asked the members of the commission to not to approve $13.7 million in tax credits for low-income and senior housing.
The move to slow down the disbursement of the already-approved funds is part of a larger deal Nixon and his staff negotiated last week while trying to persuade more conservative members of the Missouri Senate not to oppose an incentive package for The Boeing Company. According to lawmakers and staffers, Nixon’s deal included negotiations with 6 Republican senators, and the governor’s office promised in a number of ways to support curtailing the state’s tax credit programs, which total more than $600 million. In exchange, the senators in question would either support his Boeing bill, or agree not to filibuster or impede its passage. One member of the commission said Nixon’s staff asked board members to vote against approving the $13.7 million in their meeting earlier this week and specifically cited Nixon’s deal with Republicans as the reason.
Now, Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis City, has written a letter scolding Nixon for the negotiations and demanding Nixon meet with members of the black caucus. Nasheed, a strong support of low income housing and senior living tax credits and the chair of the black caucus, said the move would “deprive needy senior citizens and low income Missourians of decent housing,” in her letter.
“Using Boeing as an excuse to cut low income tax credits is disingenuous at best,” Nasheed writes. “This minority of Republican senators is simply using Boeing as leverage to carry out their war against the poor, disabled and elderly – a war your administration risks being on the wrong side of with this decision.”
Nixon’s office has not yet formally responded to Nasheed and did not immediately respond to requests for a comment.
