HOUSE BILL NO. 1659 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE STEINMEYER.
3889H.01I JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT To amend chapter 620, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to incentives for converting a business to produce certain strategic materials.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 620, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be 2 known as section 620.1646, to read as follows: 620.1646. 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Missouri 2 Defense and Energy Independence Act". 3 2. As used in this section, the following terms mean: 4 (1) "Department", the department of economic development; 5 (2) "Qualified company", a business entity headquartered or registered to do 6 business in Missouri that completes a verified conversion of its facilities to produce one 7 or more strategic materials; 8 (3) "Qualified conversion costs", expenses a qualified company incurs as part of 9 the conversion including, but not limited to, capital investments, including a minimum 10 private capital investment of at least five hundred thousand dollars, and any expenses 11 for labor, materials, and other expenses directly related to the conversion; 12 (4) "Strategic materials", includes critical chemicals, gases, metals, or minerals 13 deemed essential to defense or energy resilience, as designated by the department in 14 consultation with the United States Department of Energy or United States Department 15 of Defense. 16 3. There is hereby established a grant program within the department of 17 economic development to encourage and assist qualified companies in converting their
EXPLANATION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is intended to be omitted from the law. Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language. HB 1659 2
18 facilities to produce strategic materials within the state of Missouri. Grant moneys, 19 upon appropriation, shall be awarded to qualified companies according to the 20 provisions of this section. 21 4. When applying to the department to qualify for a grant under this section, a 22 qualified company shall: 23 (1) Submit a conversion plan to the department that includes: 24 (a) The timeline for the completion of the conversion; 25 (b) The strategic materials to be produced; and 26 (c) The number of anticipated jobs to be created or retained in Missouri; 27 (2) Demonstrate that the company incurred a minimum private capital 28 investment cost of five hundred thousand dollars; 29 (3) Provide documentation to the department certifying compliance with the 30 state's labor, environmental, and tax laws; and 31 (4) Provide any further supporting documentation requested by the department 32 relating to the qualification process. 33 5. (1) A qualified company shall complete the department-approved conversion 34 plan within the time frame established by the department, but not later than twenty- 35 four months from the date of the award of moneys. 36 (2) If a qualified company fails to complete the approved conversion within the 37 time frame set out in subdivision (1) of this subsection or fails to comply with any of the 38 department's requirements for completing the conversion, a qualified company shall 39 repay the entire amount of the moneys awarded or a proportionate amount of the 40 moneys awarded, based upon the guidelines or parameters established by the 41 department. 42 6. (1) There is hereby created in the state treasury the "Missouri Defense and 43 Energy Independence Fund", which shall consist of moneys appropriated by the general 44 assembly not to exceed ten million dollars annually, subject to appropriation. The fund 45 shall also include any gifts, contributions, grants, or bequests received from federal, 46 private, or other sources. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund. In 47 accordance with sections 30.170 and 30.180, the state treasurer may approve 48 disbursements. The fund shall be a dedicated fund and, upon appropriation, moneys 49 in the fund shall be used solely as provided in subsection 7 of this section. 50 (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the contrary, any moneys 51 remaining in the fund at the end of the biennium shall not revert to the credit of the 52 general revenue fund. HB 1659 3
53 (3) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the same manner as 54 other funds are invested. Any interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be 55 credited to the fund. 56 7. (1) The department shall establish procedures for the solicitation, evaluation, 57 and approval of grant applications received from qualified companies. A qualified 58 company may submit a grant application for the award of moneys for qualified 59 conversion costs incurred by the qualified company as provided in this subsection. 60 (2) The department shall evaluate each application and approve or reject such 61 application. Subject to appropriations, upon approval of an application, the 62 department shall administer a grant award of moneys from the fund in an amount 63 not to exceed one million dollars per grant application per fiscal year. 64 (3) Moneys granted to a qualified company under this section shall be used solely 65 for qualified conversion costs incurred for the completion of the conversion. 66 8. The department shall submit a full report to the general assembly not later 67 than December thirty-first of each year. The report shall include the number of total 68 applications that were received during the fiscal year, the number of projects approved, 69 the total number of moneys awarded, and the estimated economic impact to the state. 70 9. The department shall promulgate all necessary rules and regulations for the 71 administration of this section including, but not limited to, rules relating to the 72 verification of a qualified company's qualified amount and qualified conversion costs. 73 Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010, that is created 74 under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies 75 with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 76 536.028. This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested 77 with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, 78 or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant 79 of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2026, shall 80 be invalid and void. 81 10. The provisions of the new program authorized under this section shall sunset 82 ten years after the effective date of this section unless reauthorized by an act of the 83 general assembly. ✔
Statutes affected: