Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Tuesday officially announced a special legislative session that will bring state lawmakers back to Jefferson City early next month, to address legislation regarding incentives to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri, along with bills to help victims of storms statewide, including the May 16 tornado that struck St. Louis. Also under consideration will be hundreds of millions of dollars in state projects that were left hanging when a House budget bill died late in the regular session.

The session will begin June 2. 

While multiple legislative sources have said it would run through June 13, the governor's call did not have a formal end date. The Chiefs and Royals have until June 30 to accept terms of incentives offered by the state of Kansas.

A Kehoe-backed bill emerged in the final days of the regular session that would allow Missouri to issue bonds for up to half the cost of the stadium projects and give team owners tax credits of up to $50 million.

It passed the House but didn’t get out of the Senate, which adjourned two days early on May 14 after passing measures to put abortion back on the ballot and rolled back voter-approved paid sick leave and minimum wage reforms, while also upset that the House killed a construciton budget bill worth more than $500 million in projects aroudn the state.

On Tuesday, Kehoe urged lawmakers to come back to the Capitol ready to put aside feelings over how the regular session ended. He also said the state would not be the only entity at the table as part of the negotiations with the franchises, meaning local governments in the Kansas City area would also need to step up. Jackson County voters rejected a 2024 tax proposal that would have funded stadium improvements.

Kehoe's call asks the General Assembly to consider all of the projects in the budget bill that were funded outside of state general revenues, along with $25 million in general revenue for the research reactor at the University of Missouri-Columbia and $25 million for the Missouri Housing Trust Fund.

The additional funding for the trust fund would be used to cover expanding eligibilty to access the funds to pay for disaster housing grants, home repair and construction grants. Lawmakers are being asked to change the eligiblity requirement of having a regional average median income of 50% to 75% for anyone living in an area that was the subject of a federal disaster request this year.

Lawmakrs are also being asked to allow homeowners and renters to file for an income tax deduction for deductibles incurred during disasters, up to $5,000 per household, per disaster each year.

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, a Kansas City Democrat said her caucus "is ready, as always, to work toward developing good, sound policy that supports Missouri’s vital public services and infrastructure, provides continued economic opportunity, and protects all of our communities.” She said the $25 million proposed for the Missouri Housing Trust Fund "does not nearly go far enough" but that she appreciates its inclusion in the special session call.