Missouri Legislature called into special session in bid to nab Boeing 777X

ST LOUIS – Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced Friday he is calling the Legislature into a special session beginning Monday to enact legislation that would allow the state to bid for the production of Boeing’s planned 777X.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch  website, stltoday.com, said Nixon would seek up to $150 million in annual tax breaks and other incentives to try to lure Boeing to build its plant in north St. Louis County.

“Building this next-generation commercial aircraft in Missouri would create thousands of jobs across our state and secure our position as a hub for advanced aerospace manufacturing,” Nixon said in a written statement announcing the special session. “ . . . I am committed to competing for and winning this project.”

The special session will begin at 4 p.m. Monday, the Post-Dispatch said.

Boeing already employs about 15,000 in Missouri, the news site said.

Nixon said in his message that Boeing has set a Dec. 10 deadline to accept states' bids for the plant. That effectively means the Legislature would have to get it done next week, the news site said.