香港三级片

JEFFERSON CITY 鈥� A plan to rejuvenate empty office buildings in downtown St. 香港三级片 is being held hostage by Missouri Republicans, who want to repeal the state鈥檚 new paid sick leave law.

House Speaker Jon Patterson Thursday said he is waiting for a repeal or compromise of the newly minted sick leave law before asking lawmakers to vote on a $50 million plan to subsidize the conversion of empty downtown office buildings into apartments.

The sick leave law, known as Proposition A, was approved by Missouri voters in November and went into effect Thursday despite ongoing GOP attempts to scuttle the plan.

The downtown proposal easily moved through the Senate earlier in the legislative session, but has sat idle in the House. Under the plan sponsored by Sen. Steve Roberts, D-St. 香港三级片, developers would be able to recoup a portion of the cost of converting office buildings into other uses, including residential and retail.

In particular, the $50 million proposal could help buildings like the 44 story AT&T tower, which has been vacant since the company left in 2017. The 21-story Railway Exchange building has been mostly empty since 2013, when Macy鈥檚 left the space. Combined, the buildings have 2.6 million square feet available.

Patterson said he has toured the AT&T tower and supports the plan, but wants to see the sick leave changes put in place first.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no point in trying to attract businesses when you are telling them with Prop A that it is going to be very difficult for you. You have these sick leave provisions that can lead to criminal penalties.鈥� Patterson told reporters Thursday.

Roberts said negotiations are underway. He said legislation often becomes part of a bargaining chip for larger issues.

鈥淎s we get into these final weeks of session, a lot of bills get held up in both chambers. We welcome any conversation regarding Prop A,鈥� Roberts said Thursday.

Following Thursday鈥檚 floor action, Rep. Travis Wilson, R-St. Charles, ducked into Roberts鈥� office. He is carrying a bill similar to Roberts that seeks to help jumpstart downtown development, but he did not offer any specifics on what the two would be discussing.

鈥淲e are working hard to see what we can get done in the last couple of weeks,鈥� Wilson said.

Negotiators in the Senate have been unable to find a compromise on legislation seeking to repeal the sick leave provisions despite weeks of talks and the promise both sides were close.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the law approved by 57% of the voters was valid, putting more pressure on Republicans and Democrats to find a solution that makes the plan more friendly to business.

Senate President Cindy O鈥橪aughlin, R-Shelbina, who has threatened to upend the legislative session in order to repeal the law told reporters Thursday that both sides continue to talk.

鈥淥ur side of the aisle has great concern about the burden that this would place on business,鈥� O鈥橪aughlin said. 鈥淚f we鈥檙e going to promote economic growth and jobs we need to be cognizant of that.鈥�

Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, D-south St. 香港三级片 County, also wants to find a solution, but said the law going into effect Thursday means any changes would result in some workers losing access to the leave time they voted for.

鈥淎nything we do at this point would be taking something away from people,鈥� Beck said.

House Minority Leader Ashley Aune, D-Kansas City, vowed to oppose a repeal of the law.

鈥淒emocrats will fight like hell over the next couple of weeks to make sure they get to keep it,鈥� Aune said. 鈥淭he anti-worker forces in the state just won鈥檛 let it go.鈥�

鈥淭o snatch away the legal right to earned sick leave at this point would be an extreme act of cruelty, not to mention pure disdain for voters,鈥� Aune said.

The building tax credit plan is Senate Bse Bi