Press release:

JEFFERSON CITY – Gov. Matt Blunt, Senate President Pro Tem Michael R. Gibbons and House Speaker Rod Jetton today announced a special session of the Missouri General Assembly to begin August 20th to fast track the Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Program to repair or replace more than 800 Missouri bridges and enact an economic development package which includes an expansion of the governor’s successful Quality Jobs Act.

“We have been working with transportation officials since last year to make Missouri bridges safer and sounder and the tragedy in Minnesota certainly illustrates the importance of our work,” Gov. Blunt said. “Now we need to clear this final hurdle in a special session to implement the Safe and Sound Bridge Improvement Program to make Missouri’s transportation infrastructure even stronger. Missourians have responded to the pro-jobs, pro-growth initiatives we have enacted by creating nearly 90,000 jobs since January 2005. The Quality Jobs Act is the most important economic development tool we have had to help create family-supporting jobs with good wages and health care benefits. I am asking the legislature to expand the Quality Jobs Act and other pro-jobs, pro-growth initiatives with a responsible economic development bill.”

Senate President Pro Tem Michael R. Gibbons said the Senate will work efficiently to pass the governor’s calls to improve the lives of Missourians. “The Quality Jobs Act has been extremely successful in providing more than 12,000 good-paying jobs with benefits to Missourians. This special session will allow us to expand the program’s cap to allow businesses to hire more Missourians,” Sen. Gibbons said. “I am also glad to see we will have an opportunity to move forward with the design and build project of more than 800 bridges that has been in the works since last fall. This step will generate much needed repairs and construction making Missouri’s bridges safer for our drivers.” Read more…

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