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 few more additional things to it," listing credits already on the books that the substitute would carry forward.

Nut graf: The substitute bundles multiple existing agriculture-related tax credits and generally extends their statutory sunset dates to 2028; supporters said the credits deliver strong returns to farmers and rural economies, while at least one lawmaker objected to including a rolling-stock credit in the package.

The substitute, as described on the floor, adds or extends several credits already present in Missouri law: a wood-energy tax credit administered through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR); a meat-processing facilities investment credit; ethanol and biodiesel retailers' and distributors' tax credits; a biodiesel producer tax credit; an urban farm investment credit; a rolling-stock tax credit; specialty-crop and new-generation cooperative incentives; and an agricultural products utilization credit. Representative Haley said many of the listed credits "have a current sunset date of 2028" and characterized them as items "that are currently on our books." She also said the substitute served as a vehicle to carry related measures across the finish line.

Several members explained their votes. Representative Hayden, noting national market pressures on agriculture, argued the credits were "really critical right now" and urged evaluation of tax credits by return on investment: "If they aren't given 2 to 1, I don't think we ought to do them." Representative Nolte said he intended to vote for the substitute but reiterated a continuing objection to inclusion of the rolling-stock tax credit: "I intend to vote for this bill, but I I can't do it without raising, my problem that rolling stock tax credits included in this bill." Representative Deal noted the committee had previously considered an earlier version in an executive session on March 4 and described the substitute as the most complete version.

The committee adopted the committee substitute and voted the bill do pass. The clerk recorded the roll-call outcome as 19 ayes and 1 no on the committee substitute for House Bill 1317; committee staff did not identify the single no vote on the record during the roll call announcement.

Ending: The committee recommendation advances the substitute to the next stage of House consideration. The committee record shows debate focused on both the economic rationale for preserving the listed credits and specific objections to particular credits in the package; no additional amendments were adopted during the floor discussion reported in the transcript.