One of the Missouri House's budget writers is warning Gov. Jay Nixon to change his stance on pursuing funding for a new NFL stadium without a vote of the people.
Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, is vice chair of the House select committee on the state budget. In a letter to Nixon, a Democrat, he said he won't support any budget bill next year that includes funding for debt service on bonds issued for a new NFL stadium in St. Louis.
"Furthermore, I will do everything within my power ... to ensure that this plan does not go forward unless there is first an affirmative vote of the people or the General Assembly specifically authorizing the issuance of debt for that purpose," Fitzpatrick said.
He also writes in his letter that the legislature "never intended" for statutes that authorized bonds used to build the Edward Jones Dome to be used to pay for a second stadium.
"Our state constitution gives the power to appropriate money exclusively to the legislature," Fitzpatrick said. "The executive branch should not bind Missourians to additional debt without the approval of the people or their elected representatives."
Fitzpatrick finishes by telling Nixon that he would "bear full responsibility for any damage to Missouri's credit rating." He said the reason the letter was made public was to warn any potential bond purchasers of "my concerns and my intended course of action."
A spokesperson for Nixon says they "won't have a response on this today."
Earlier this month, St. Louis circuit judge Thomas Frawley ruled that voter approval is not necessary for public funds to be used to finance a new stadium.
Last week, the Missouri Development Finance Board voted to provide $15 million in tax credits this year for the proposed new stadium in St. Louis, the first step in providing up to $50 million in incentives through 2017. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder was the only board member to vote "no."
A task force created by Nixon is proposing to build a $998 million, 64,000-seat stadium on the St. Louis riverfront, in the hopes of keeping the Rams in St. Louis or, barring that, attracting another NFL franchise to relocate.
Rams owner Stan Kroenke has proposed building an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, Calif., about 12 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
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