Sen. Lincoln Hough is on a mission to create TIME Zones in Missouri.
Don’t be misled by the acronym; his bill has nothing to do with how people set their watches. Rather, TIME stands for Targeted Industrial Manufacturing Enhancement.
These economic development zones would be similar to Missouri’s existing AIM (Advanced Industrial Manufacturing) zones, which are located near ports.
Currently, communities outside AIM Zones don’t have the same types of opportunities. Senate Bill 174 would help level the playing field for the rest of the state, particularly smaller municipalities.
“What this allows a community or a couple of communities to do is enter into a collaborative effort to recapture some of the state withholding taxes only associated with new jobs in these areas. And then primarily, the utilization of those funds would be for infrastructure improvement,” Sen. Hough said. Hough is a Republican from Springfield and a 2020 Business Champion.
Missouri Chamber Director of Legislative Affairs Ross Lien testified in support of the bill at its committee hearing on Feb. 9.
“This is another tool for communities and economic developers to create jobs and economic growth,” said Lien.
The legislation now awaits the committee’s vote.
