State Sen. Wallingford wants to boost military jobs

A Cape Girardeau lawmaker has proposed a measure designed to create more military jobs in Missouri.

State Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, has introduced legislation that would offer a tax credit for the expansion or improvement of a military base or installation that leads to an increase of 10 or more military or civilian support personnel jobs.

In order to qualify, the jobs must pay an average wage of at least 90 percent of the county average wage.

The tax credits would be equal to the withholdings taxes associated with the new civilian and military jobs. The credits only would be issued if the Missouri Department of Economic Development determines a project would provide a fiscal benefit to the state.

“We are not just dangling money out there so people can just grab it off the tree,” Wallingford said.

Wallingford’s bill has been passed out of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. Wallingford is a member of that committee.

The Republican lawmaker, who served in the Air Force, said his bill is designed to “attract new jobs to the state.”

Other states have offered incentives to attract military jobs. Missouri needs to offer incentives, too, he said.

Military jobs aren’t on the radar of many Missourians.

“In Missouri, you don’t think about it so much,” he said.

But military jobs pump billions of dollars into the state’s economy, Wallingford said.

According to a study done for the state’s Economic Development Department, the U.S. Department of Defense spends more than $14 billion a year, on average, in Missouri.

That direct spending, in turn, has resulted in a more than $30 billion impact annually in goods and services being purchased from Missouri companies. Military spending has created more than 180,000 jobs, the study found.

Missouri is home to Whiteman Air Force Base and the Army’s Fort Leonard Wood, as well as several other smaller installations.

If Wallingford’s bill becomes law, he said he believes the financial incentives could lead to expanded bases in Missouri, providing an economic victory for the state.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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