House committee advances substitute to extend agricultural tax credits including biodiesel credit

The Missouri House Agriculture Committee voted to give House Committee substitute for House Bill 1317 a do-pass recommendation after a floor-level debate that centered on extending and consolidating a set of existing agricultural tax credits, including a biodiesel blend fuel credit.

Committee Chair Representative Dean P. (Chairman Justice) announced the motion to vote and said the substitute had been distributed electronically; Representative Haley moved adoption of the substitute. Representative Whaley said she had reservations about tax credits generally but supported biodiesel on its merits: "Because it's a tax credit, I do struggle with it. However, the, the biodiesel is an excellent product." Representative Haley, who explained the substitute on the floor, said the bill began as a biodiesel tax-credit measure and "became, a great route to add a…