By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri House has passed a bill designed to spur job creation and pump more money into the state's economy.
The bill primarily expands the Quality Jobs program. Tax breaks from the program had been capped at $60 million, but this year's bill removes the cap entirely. It also provides other incentives to draw high-tech employers to Missouri.
State Representative Tim Flook, R-Liberty, sponsored the bill.
"These are good ideas that target technology and science; they target those types of investments into our state that will create innovation so that we are competitive on a global market," Flook said.
The bill had strong bipartisan support, but there was some opposition.
State Representative Therese Sander, R-Moberly said companies engaging in what she calls human cloning could receive tax breaks.
"We already have a for-profit company in existence whose business plan is to use cloning to establish human stem cell lines on which drug formulas may be tested," Sander said.
State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford, D-St. Louis, opposed the bill as well, saying it does not do enough to help working families.
However the measure passed overwhelmingly, 141 to 19, and it now goes to the Missouri Senate.