Modifies provisions relating to port authorities

5837S.03C
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SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 1146
AN ACT
To repeal sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040,
68.045, 68.055, 68.057, 68.060, 68.075, 68.205, and
68.259, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof twelve new
sections relating to water resources.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040,
68.045, 68.055, 68.057, 68.060, 68.075, 68.205, and 68.259,
RSMo, are repealed and twelve new sections enacted in lieu
thereof, to be known as sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040,
68.045, 68.055, 68.057, 68.060, 68.075, 68.085, 68.205, and
68.253, to read as follows:
68.010. 1. Every city or county which is situated
upon, or adjacent to, or which embraces within its
boundaries a navigable waterway, is hereby authorized to
form a local port authority, and upon approval of the
highways and transportation commission of the state of
Missouri, the port authority shall be a political
subdivision of this state. In every constitutional charter
city not within a county, a local "Port Authority" is
created by sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040, 68.045,
68.060 and 68.070 and shall become a political subdivision
of this state September 28, 1975.
2. The highways and transportation commission of the
state of Missouri is hereby authorized to accept
applications, conduct hearings, and approve or disapprove
applications for approval of local or regional port
authorities as political subdivisions of this state, as
provided herein, but in determining the approval or

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disapproval of such applications, the highways and
transportation commission shall consider the following
criteria:
(1) The population of any city and/or county
submitting the application;
(2) The desirability and economic feasibility of
having more than a single port authority within the same
geographic area;
(3) The technical and economic capability of
participating cities and/or counties, as well as private
interests, to plan and carry out port development within the
proposed district;
(4) The amount of actual and potential river traffic
that would make use of any facilities developed by a port
authority;
(5) The potential economic impact on the immediate
area from which the application originates; and
(6) The potential impact on the economic development
of the entire state and how the proposed port authority's
developmental activities relate to any state plans.
Provided, however, any such application shall be granted if
it is made by a city or county of at least three hundred
thousand population, having a common boundary with the state
of Kansas, or by a group of cities or counties at least one
of which meets the aforesaid criteria, and if no proposed
boundary of the port authority described in such application
overlaps the boundary of any then existing port authority.
3. No city shall create a port authority under
sections 68.010, 68.015, 68.025, 68.040, 68.045, 68.060 and
68.070 if said city is located within a county that has
created a port authority which has received approval as a
political subdivision of this state under sections 68.010,

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68.015, 68.025, 68.040, 68.045, 68.060 and 68.070; provided,
however, this subsection shall not be construed as
invalidating any port authority created by a city and
approved as a political subdivision prior to the creation of
a port authority by a county.
68.015. 1. (1) The legislative body, or county
commission, of each county or city creating a port authority
or any port authority created within said city pursuant to
section 68.010 hereof shall designate what areas within such
county or city shall comprise one or more port districts,
subject to the limitation that any area designated as within
a port district shall be or could be reasonably connected to
the business of a port. The boundaries of any port district
shall be filed with the clerk of the county commission, city
clerk, or clerk of the legislative or governing body of the
county as applicable and shall become effective upon
approval of the transportation commission. The legislative
body or county commission may from time to time enlarge or
reduce the area comprising any port district. Any change of
boundaries shall be submitted for approval to the highways
and transportation commission and upon approval shall be
filed with the appropriate clerk and thereupon become
effective.
(2) If a port authority whose port district includes a
constitutional charter city located in four or more counties
shall purchase or lease real property situated anywhere
within such counties, such real property shall be deemed
included within the port district and the port authority
shall be empowered to exercise its powers under section
68.025 with respect to such real property, and any personal
property located thereon.
2. The legislative body or county commission of any
county or city authorized to create a local port authority

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may appropriate, allocate and expend such funds of the
county or city for the planning and development of a port
district as are reasonable and necessary to carry out the
provisions of this chapter.
68.025. 1. Every local and regional port authority,
approved as a political subdivision of the state, shall have
the following powers to:
(1) Confer with any similar body created under laws of
this or any other state for the purpose of adopting a
comprehensive plan for the future development and
improvement of its port districts;
(2) Consider and adopt detailed and comprehensive
plans for future development and improvement of its port
districts and to coordinate such plans with regional and
state programs;
(3) Establish a port improvement district in
accordance with this chapter;
(4) Carry out any of the projects enumerated in
subdivision (17) of section 68.205;
(5) Within the boundaries of any established port
improvement district, to levy either a sales and use tax or
a real property tax, or both, for the purposes of paying any
part of the cost of a project benefitting property in a port
improvement district; except that no port improvement
district real property tax may be levied on any property,
real or personal, which is assessed pursuant to sections
151.010 to 151.340, unless such real property tax levy is
agreed to in writing by the property's owner;
(6) Pledge both revenues generated by any port
improvement district and any other port authority revenue
source to the repayment of any outstanding obligations;
(7) Either jointly with a similar body, or separately,
recommend to the proper departments of the government of the

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United States, or any state or subdivision thereof, or to
any other body, the carrying out of any public improvement
for the benefit of its port districts;
(8) Provide for membership in any official,
industrial, commercial, or trade association, or any other
organization concerned with such purposes, for receptions of
officials or others as may contribute to the advancement of
its port districts and any industrial development therein,
and for such other public relations activities as will
promote the same, and such activities shall be considered a
public purpose;
(9) Represent its port districts before all federal,
state and local agencies;
(10) Cooperate with other public or private agencies
[and with], individuals, partnerships, corporations,
industry, business, and labor in port district improvement
matters;
(11) Enter into any agreement with any other states,
agencies, authorities, commissions, municipalities, persons,
corporations, or the United States, to effect any of the
provisions contained in this chapter;
(12) Approve the construction of all wharves, piers,
bulkheads, jetties, or other structures;
(13) Prevent or remove, or cause to be removed,
obstructions in harbor areas, including the removal of
wrecks, wharves, piers, bulkheads, derelicts, jetties or
other structures endangering the health and general welfare
of the port districts; in case of the sinking of a facility
from any cause, such facility or vessel shall be removed
from the harbor at the expense of its owner or agent so that
it shall not obstruct the harbor;
(14) Recommend the relocation, change, or removal of
dock lines and shore or harbor lines;

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(15) Acquire, own, construct, redevelop, lease,
maintain, and conduct land reclamation and resource
recovery, including the removal of sand, rock, or gravel,
residential developments, commercial developments, mixed-use
developments, recreational facilities, industrial parks,
industrial facilities, and terminals, terminal facilities,
warehouses and any other type port facility;
(16) Acquire, own, lease, sell, mortgage, encumber, or
otherwise dispose of interest in and to real property and
improvements situate thereon and in personal property
necessary to fulfill the purposes of the port authority;
(17) Acquire rights-of-way and property of any kind or
nature within its port districts necessary for its
purposes. Every port authority shall have the right and
power to acquire the same by purchase, negotiation, or by
condemnation, and should it elect to exercise the right of
eminent domain, condemnation proceedings shall be maintained
by and in the name of the port authority, and it may proceed
in the manner provided by the laws of this state for any
county or municipality. The power of eminent domain shall
not apply to property actively being used in relation to or
in conjunction with river trade or commerce, unless such use
is by a port authority pursuant to a lease in which event
the power of eminent domain shall apply;
(18) Contract and be contracted with, and to sue and
be sued;
(19) Accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from
the United States of America, the state of Missouri,
political subdivisions, municipalities, foundations, other
public or private agencies, [individual, partnership]
individuals, partnerships, or corporations;
(20) Employ such managerial, engineering, legal,
technical, clerical, accounting, advertising, stenographic,

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and other assistance as it may deem advisable. The port
authority may also contract with independent contractors for
any of the foregoing assistance;
(21) Improve navigable and nonnavigable areas as
regulated by federal statute;
(22) Disburse funds for its lawful activities and fix
salaries and wages of its employees; [and]
(23) Adopt, alter or repeal its own bylaws, rules and
regulations governing the manner in which its business may
be transacted; however, said bylaws, rules and regulations
shall not exceed the powers granted to the port authority by
this chapter;
(24) Contract with any other port authority for the
purpose of providing administrative support and exercising,
on such other port authority's behalf and in such other port
authority's name, the powers delegated to port authorities
by this chapter; and
(25) Establish port rangers as follows:
(a) A port authority may appoint and commission such
port rangers as the port authority deems advisable to assist
the municipal police force in maintaining order and
preserving the peace within the boundaries of any real
property owned or leased by the port authority within the
state and on public streets within the boundaries of or
abutting any real property owned or leased by the port
authority within the state;
(b) Such port rangers shall have satisfactorily
completed a training course as prescribed by chapter 590 for
peace officers within the state or shall otherwise comply
with the requirements of chapter 590 for certification
within the time periods specified in such chapter;
(c) Each port ranger shall take and subscribe an oath
of office to perform the duties of such office faithfully

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and impartially and shall be given a certificate of
commission as a port ranger granting such port ranger the
power to carry a firearm, maintain order, preserve the
peace, issue citations, and make arrests for violations of
state statutes and municipal ordinances within the port
ranger's jurisdiction. The municipal police force shall at
all times maintain primary jurisdiction and no provision of
this subdivision shall be construed as depriving,
curtailing, restricting, or otherwise impairing such
municipal police force in the performance of such police
force's duties.
2. In implementing its powers, the port authority
shall have the power to enter into agreements with private
operators or public entities for the joint development,
redevelopment, and reclamation of property within a port
district or for other uses to fulfill the purposes of the
port authority.
68.040. 1. Every local and regional port authority,
approved as a political subdivision of the state, may from
time to time issue its negotiable revenue bonds or notes in
such principal amounts as, in its opinion, shall be
necessary to provide sufficient funds for achieving its
purposes, including the construction of port facilities and
the financing of port improvement projects; establish
reserves to secure such bonds and notes; and make other
expenditures, incident and necessary to carry out its
purposes and powers.
2. (1) This state shall not be liable on any notes or
bonds of any port authority.
(2) Any such notes or bonds shall not be a debt of the
state and shall contain on the faces thereof a statement to
such effect.

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(3) The failure to include such statement on the faces
of such notes or bonds shall neither invalidate the notes or
bonds nor render the state liable on such notes or bonds.
3. No commissioner of any port authority or any
authorized person executing port authority notes or bonds
shall be liable personally on said notes or bonds or shall
be subject to any personal liability or accountability by
reason of the issuance thereof.
4. The notes and bonds of every port authority are
securities in which all public officers and bodies of this
state and all political subdivisions and municipalities, all
insurance companies and associations, and other persons
carrying on an insurance business, all banks, trust
companies, saving associations, savings and loan
associations, credit unions, investment companies, all
administrators, guardians, executors, trustees, and other
fiduciaries, and all other persons whatsoever, who now or
may hereafter be authorized to invest in notes and bonds or
other obligations of this state, may properly and legally
invest funds, including capital, in their control or
belonging to them.
5. No port authority shall be required to pay any
taxes or any assessments whatsoever to this state or to any
political subdivisions, municipality, or other governmental
agency of this state. The notes and bonds of every port
authority and the income therefrom shall, at all times, be
exempt from any taxes and any assessments, except for death
and gift taxes and taxes on transfers. Additionally, the
leases of both real and personal property by or to any port
authority involving the issuance of bonds authorized under
this chapter shall be exempt from taxation. A port
authority issuing bonds under this chapter for incentivized
development shall require the developer of any project which

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is to be leased to such developer, or any other party, to
confer with the affected taxing authorities, and
subsequently contractually require the payment of such sums
as they may agree upon, or the port authority may elect to
require such sums to be allocated among such taxing
authorities on the same pro rata basis as are ad valorem
property tax revenues.
6. Every port authority shall have the powers and be
governed by the procedures now or hereafter conferred upon
or applicable to the environmental improvement authority,
chapter 260, relating to the manner of issuance of revenue
bonds and notes, and the port authority shall exercise all
such powers and adhere to all such procedures insofar as
they are consistent with the necessary and proper
undertaking of its purposes.
68.045. 1. Every local port authority shall be
administered by a board of port authority commissioners
which shall consist of at least seven members; provided,
however, that the number of members of one political party
shall not exceed the number of members of the other party by
more than one.
2. Newly created port authorities as well as those
presently constituted shall structure the terms of those
commissioners so that no more than three members' terms
shall expire in any one year. Each member shall continue to
serve until a successor has been appointed as provided in
this section.
3. In the event the county or city creating the port
authority operates under a charter form of government, the
method of appointment and the qualifications, salaries,
powers, and duties of the appointees shall be as provided by
such charter. In all other cases, or if the charter is
silent as to such matters, the legislative body or county

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commission of the county or city creating the port authority
or in the case of a port authority created in this act in a
constitutional charter city not within a county, the
legislative body of that constitutional charter city shall
determine the method of appointment, and subject to the
limitations expressed in [the first sentence] subsection 1
of this section, shall determine their qualifications,
salaries, powers and duties consistent with the provisions
of this chapter. If the legislative body or county
commission, as applicable, fails to determine such
qualifications, salaries, powers, and duties prior to
appointment, the board of port authority commissioners may
elect to do so under the port authority's bylaws, consistent
with the provisions of this chapter.
4. A member of a board of port authority commissioners
shall be removed from office in such manner as is provided
for the appointment of members as provided in subsections 2
and 3 of this section for malfeasance, willful neglect of
duty, or other cause after notice and public hearing, unless
such member expressly waives such notice or hearing in
writing. Removal for any other reason and the process to be
undertaken in effecting such removal shall be reserved to
the board of port authority commissioners and exercised as
prescribed by the bylaws.
5. The legislative body or county commission shall
also provide for the filing of annual reports by the board
of port authority commissioners and for periodic independent
audits of the accounts of the port authority.
68.055. 1. Every port authority shall let contracts
for all work to be done and for equipment, supplies or
materials to be purchased. Excepting as otherwise provided
herein, such contracts shall be given to [the lowest
responsible bidder therefor, upon not less than twenty days'

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notice of the letting, given by publication in a newspaper
of general circulation in the city or county creating the
port authority; and in the discretion of the commissioners,
in one or more newspapers of general circulation among
contractors. The port authority shall have the power and
authority to reject any and all bids and to readvertise the
work or proposed purchase] bidder or proposer whose bid or
proposal, when evaluated alongside factors such as ability
to perform, timeliness, character and reputation, quality of
past performance, compliance with applicable laws, quality
and availability, and ability to provide future maintenance
and services where applicable, is determined to be lowest
and best.
(1) Every port authority shall be authorized to use
such additional procurement methods authorized by any
provision of state law with respect to political
subdivisions or not otherwise precluded by any provision of
state law with respect to political subdivisions, provided
such nonprecluded methods are structured and implemented in
a manner as to ensure an open, transparent, competitive, and
fair process.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1)
of this subsection to the contrary, nothing in this section
shall be construed to authorize a port authority to use
anything other than a qualifications-based procurement
method with respect to professional architecture or
engineering services in connection with the design,
construction, alteration, addition, remodel, or improvement
of any public facility.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of
this section, every port authority may let contracts in a
manner consistent with the procedures set forth in 24 CFR
Section 85.36, "Uniform Administrative Requirements for

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Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local
Government", as may be revised from time to time, regardless
of the source of funds for the procurement, except that if a
funding source mandates specific procedures for letting
contracts as a condition to receipt of funds which are
inconsistent with the procedures authorized in this section
for letting contracts, a port authority may use such
procedures required by the funding source.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2 of
this section, the dollar limit of procurements which may,
pursuant to subsection 2 of this section, be accomplished
using "small purchase procedures", shall, for the purposes
of procurements to be paid for with funds other than federal
funds, adjust annually based on the rate of inflation
according to the Consumer Price Index, commencing in 1995.
68.057. 1. Any expenditure made by a port authority[,
as defined in section 68.205,] that is over [twenty-five]
seventy-five thousand dollars, including professional
service contracts, shall be competitively [bid] procured.
Contracts shall be awarded upon not less than twenty days'
notice of the letting, given by publication in a newspaper
of general circulation in the city or county creating the
port authority and, in the discretion of the commissioners,
in one or more newspapers of general circulation among
contractors. In the event no newspaper of general
circulation exists in the city or county creating the port
authority, the notice required in this subsection shall be
given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation
in an adjoining city or county or in such city or county
having a newspaper of general circulation as is
geographically closest to the port authority.

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2. The port authority shall have the power and
authority to reject any and all bids or proposals and to
readvertise the work or proposed purchase.
68.060. 1. Any combination of cities and counties
that do not have local port authorities approved by the
highways and transportation commission of the state of
Missouri as of the effective date of this act but that are
individually eligible to form local port authorities, and
cities and counties with existing local port authorities,
are authorized to directly apply to the highways and
transportation commission of the state for approval of a
regional port authority as a political subdivision of the
state.
2. The legislative bodies or county commissions of
cities or counties [desiring to form a regional port
authority], or such other persons as may be designated by
charter for those cities or counties operating under a
charter form of government, as applicable, in consultation
with the boards of any existing local port authorities to be
included within the regional port authority, are hereby
authorized to enter into contractual agreements with each
other for the purpose of creating within each jurisdiction
regional port districts administered by the regional port
authority. All terms and provisions of said contractual
agreements shall be consistent with the provisions of this
chapter. The contractual agreement shall be filed in the
office of county clerk, city clerk or clerk of the county
council of each party to the agreement.
3. The boundaries of any regional port district, and
the number, method of appointment, terms, qualifications,
salaries, powers and duties of a regional board of
commissioners shall be fixed by the contractual agreement;
provided, however, that any contractual agreement shall not

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become effective until it has been submitted to and approved
by all of the legislative bodies or county commissions
entering into said contractual agreement, or such other
persons as may be designated by charter for those cities or
counties operating under a charter form of government, as
applicable.
4. The port districts to be included within the
regional port authority need not be contiguous, adjacent, or
abutting.
5. Any local port authority is authorized to contract
with an existing regional port authority for inclusion in
the regional port authority. The contractual agreement
shall be formulated by the terms and procedures expressed in
subsections 2 and 3 of this section. Approval of the
highways and transportation commission shall be required to
make the annexation effective.
6. Any local port authority established by a city or
county, that subsequently enters into a contractual
agreement and is approved as part of a regional port
authority, is dissolved as of the date that the annexation
is approved by the highways and transportation commission of
the state. On said date, all funds and other assets of the
local port authority shall be transferred to the regional
port authority. The regional port authority shall
faithfully perform all existing contracts and assume all
legal obligations of the local port authority.
68.075. 1. This section shall be known and may be
cited as the "Advanced Industrial Manufacturing Zones Act".
2. As used in this section, the following terms shall
mean:
(1) "AIM zone", an area identified through a
resolution passed by the port authority board of
commissioners appointed under section 68.045 that is being

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developed or redeveloped for any purpose so long as any
infrastructure and building built or improved is in the
development area. The port authority board of commissioners
shall file an annual report indicating the established AIM
zones with the department of revenue;
(2) "County average wage", the average wage in each
county as determined by the Missouri department of economic
development for the most recently completed full calendar
year. However, if the computed county average wage is above
the statewide average wage, the statewide average wage shall
be deemed the county average wage for such county for the
purpose of determining eligibility;
(3) "New job", the number of full-time employees
located at the project facility that exceeds the project
facility base employment less any decrease in the number of
full-time employees at related facilities below the related
facility base employment. No job that was created prior to
the date of the notice of intent shall be deemed a new job,
except that any job determined by the Missouri department of
economic development to be eligible for and that is
approved by the Missouri department of economic development
for retention of withholding tax under the Missouri works
program established in sections 620.2000 to 620.2020 shall
be deemed a new job for purposes of this section, provided
that the period of benefits under this section immediately
follows the end of the period of benefits under the Missouri
works program. An employee that spends less than fifty
percent of the employee's work time at the facility is still
considered to be located at a facility if the employee
receives his or her directions and control from that
facility, is on the facility's payroll, one hundred percent
of the employee's income from such employment is Missouri

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income, and the employee is paid at or above the county
average wage;
(4) "Related facility", a facility operated by a
company or a related company prior to the establishment of
the AIM zone in question located within any port district,
as defined under section 68.015, which is directly related
to the operations of the facility within the new AIM zone.
3. Any port authority located in this state may
establish an AIM zone. Such zone may only include the area
within the port authority's jurisdiction, ownership, or
control, and may include any such area. The port authority
shall determine the boundaries for each AIM zone, and more
than one AIM zone may exist within the port authority's
jurisdiction or under the port authority's ownership or
control, and may be expanded or contracted by resolution of
the port authority board of commissioners.
4. Fifty percent of the state tax withholdings imposed
by sections 143.191 to 143.265 on new jobs within such zone
after development or redevelopment has commenced shall not
be remitted to the general revenue fund of the state of
Missouri. Such moneys shall be deposited into the port
authority AIM zone fund established under subsection 5 of
this section for the purpose of continuing to expand,
develop, and redevelop AIM zones identified by the port
authority board of commissioners and may be used for
managerial, engineering, legal, research, promotion,
planning, satisfaction of bonds issued under section 68.040,
and any other expenses.
5. There is hereby created in the state treasury the
"Port Authority AIM Zone Fund", which shall consist of money
collected under this section. The state treasurer shall be
custodian of the fund and shall approve disbursements from
the fund in accordance with sections 30.170 and 30.180 to

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the port authorities from which the funds were collected,
less the pro-rata portion appropriated by the general
assembly to be used solely for the administration of this
section which shall not exceed ten percent of the total
amount collected within the zones of a port authority.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 33.080 to the
contrary, any moneys remaining in the fund at the end of the
biennium shall not revert to the credit of the general
revenue fund. The state treasurer shall invest moneys in
the fund in the same manner as other funds are invested.
Any interest and moneys earned on such investments shall be
credited to the fund.
6. The port authority shall approve any projects that
begin construction and disperse any money collected under
this section. The port authority shall submit an annual
budget for the funds to the department of economic
development explaining how and when such money will be spent.
7. The provision of section 23.253 notwithstanding, no
AIM zone may be established after August 28, 2030. Any AIM
zone created prior to that date shall continue to exist and
be coterminous with the retirement of all debts incurred
under subsection 4 of this section. No debts may be
incurred or reauthorized using AIM zone revenue after August
28, 2030.
68.085. 1. Records and documents submitted to a local
or regional port authority and pertaining to a business
prospect that the port authority is currently negotiating
may be deemed a closed record as such term is defined in
section 610.010.
2. Records and documents deemed a closed record under
section 620.014 and that are disclosed, in whole or in part,
to a local or regional port authority evaluating the

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provision of assistance under this chapter shall not lose
their status as closed records by virtue of such disclosure.
68.205. As used in sections 68.200 to 68.260, unless
the context clearly requires otherwise, the following terms
shall mean:
(1) "Act", the port improvement district act, sections
68.200 to 68.260;
(2) "Approval", for purposes of elections pursuant to
this act, a simple majority of those qualified voters
casting votes in any election;
(3) "Board", the board of port authority commissioners
for the particular port authority that desires to establish
or has established a district;
(4) "Consent", the written acknowledgment and approval
of the creation of the district by:
(a) Owners of real property collectively owning more
than [sixty] fifty percent by assessed value of real
property within the boundaries of the proposed port
improvement district; and
(b) More than [sixty] fifty percent per capita of the
owners of all real property within the boundaries of the
proposed port improvement district;
(5) "Director of revenue", the director of the
department of revenue of the state of Missouri;
(6) "Disposal of solid waste or sewage", the entire
process of storage, collection, transportation, processing,
and disposal of solid wastes or sewage;
(7) "District" or "port improvement district", an area
designated by the port authority which is located within its
port district boundaries at the time of establishment;
(8) "Election authority", the election authority
having jurisdiction over the area in which the boundaries of
the district are located under chapter 115;

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(9) "Energy conservation", the reduction of energy
consumption;
(10) "Energy efficiency", the increased productivity
or effectiveness of the use of energy resources, the
reduction of energy consumption, or the use of renewable
energy sources;
(11) "Obligations", revenue bonds and notes issued for
the repayment of any money obtained by a port authority from
any public or private source along with any associated
financing costs, including, but not limited to, the costs of
issuance, capitalized interest, and debt service;
(12) "Owner", the individual or individuals or entity
or entities who own a fee interest in real property that is
located within the boundaries of a district based upon the
recorded real estate records of the county recorder, or the
city recorder of deeds if the district is located in a city
not within a county, as of the thirtieth day prior to any
action;
(13) "Petition", a petition to establish a port
improvement district within the port district boundaries or
a petition to make a substantial change to an existing
district;
(14) "Pollution", the existence of any noxious
substance in the air or waters or on the lands of the state
in sufficient quantity and of such amounts, characteristics,
and duration as to injure or harm the public health or
welfare or animal life or property;
(15) "Port authority", a political subdivision
established pursuant to this chapter;
(16) "Port district boundaries", the boundaries of any
port authority on file with the clerk of the county
commission, city clerk, or clerk of the legislative or
governing body of the county as applicable, which became

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effective upon approval by the Missouri highways and
transportation commission;
(17) "Project" or "port improvement project", with
respect to any property within a port improvement district,
or benefitting property within a port improvement district:
(a) Providing for, or contracting for the provision
of, environmental cleanup, including the disposal of solid
waste, services to brownfields, or other polluted real
property;
(b) Providing for, or contracting for the provision
of, energy conservation or increased energy efficiency
within any building, structure, or facility;
(c) Providing for, or contracting for the provision
of, wetland creation, preservation, or relocation;
(d) The construction of any building, structure,
infrastructure, fixture, or facility determined by the port
authority as essential in developing energy resources,
preventing, reducing, or eliminating pollution, or providing
water facilities or the disposal of solid waste;
(e) Modifications to, or the relocation of, any
existing building, structure, infrastructure, fixture, or
facility that has been acquired or constructed, or which is
to be acquired or constructed for the purpose of developing
energy resources, preventing, reducing, or eliminating
pollution, or providing water facilities or the disposal of
solid waste;
(f) The acquisition, clearing, and grading of real
property and the acquisition of other property and
improvements, or rights and interest therein, which are
determined by the port authority to be significant in, or in
the furtherance of, the history, architecture, archeology,
or culture of the United States, the state of Missouri, or
its political subdivisions;

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(g) The operation, maintenance, repair,
rehabilitation, or reconstruction of any existing public or
private building, structure, infrastructure, fixture, or
facility determined by the port authority to be significant
in, or in the furtherance of, the history, architecture,
archeology, or culture of the United States, the state of
Missouri, or its political subdivisions;
(h) The construction of any new building, structure,
infrastructure, fixture, or facility that is determined by
the port authority to be significant in, or in the
furtherance of, the history, architecture, archeology, or
culture of the United States, the state of Missouri, or its
political subdivisions;
(i) Providing for any project determined to be
significant in or in furtherance of the purpose of a port
authority as provided in section 68.020;
(18) "Qualified project costs", include any and all
reasonable costs incurred or estimated to be incurred by a
port authority, or a person or entity authorized by a port
authority, in furtherance of a port improvement project,
which costs may include, but are not limited to:
(a) Costs of studies, plans, surveys, and
specifications;
(b) Professional service costs, including, but not
limited to, architectural, engineering, legal, research,
marketing, financial, planning, consulting, and special
services, including professional service costs necessary or
incident to determining the feasibility or practicability of
any project and carrying out the same;
(c) Administrative fees and costs of a port authority
in carrying out any of the purposes of this act;
(d) Property assembly costs, including, but not
limited to, acquisition of land and other property and

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improvements, real or personal, or rights or interests
therein, demolition of buildings and structures, and the
clearing or grading of land, machinery, and equipment
relating to any project, including the cost of demolishing
or removing any existing structures;
(e) Costs of operating, rehabilitating,
reconstructing, maintaining, and repairing existing
buildings, structures, infrastructure, facilities, or
fixtures;
(f) Costs of constructing new buildings, structures,
infrastructure, facilities, or fixtures;
(g) Costs of constructing, operating, rehabilitating,
reconstructing, maintaining, repairing or removing public
works or improvements;
(h) Financing costs, including, but not limited to,
all necessary and incidental expenses related to the port
authority's issuance of obligations, which may include
capitalized interest on any such obligations and reasonable
reserves related to any such obligations;
(i) All or a portion of the port authority's capital
costs resulting from a port improvement project necessarily
incurred or to be incurred in furtherance of a port
improvement project, to the extent the port authority
accepts and approves such costs; and
(j) Relocation costs, to the extent that a port
authority determines that relocation costs shall be paid, or
are required to be paid, by federal or state law;
(19) "Qualified voters", for the purposes of an
election for the approval of a real property tax or a sales
and use tax:
(a) Registered voters residing within the district; or
(b) If no registered voters reside within the
district, the owners of one or more parcels of real property

24
within the district which would be subject to such real
property taxes or sales and use taxes, as applicable, based
upon the recorded real estate records of the county
recorder, or the city recorder of deeds if the district is
located in a city not within a county, as of the thirtieth
day prior to the date of the applicable election;
(20) "Registered voters", persons who reside within
the district and who are qualified and registered to vote
pursuant to chapter 115 as determined by the election
authority as of the thirtieth day prior to the date of the
applicable election;
(21) "Respondent", unless the port authority is the
owner of all real property within the proposed district, the
municipality or municipalities within which the proposed
district is located, the county or counties within which the
proposed district is located, the Missouri highways and
transportation commission when the proposed district shall
be within the highways of the state of Missouri, and any
other political subdivision within the boundaries of the
proposed port improvement district, except the petitioning
port authority;
(22) "Revenues", all rents, revenues from any levied
real property tax and sales and use tax, charges and other
income received by a port authority in connection with any
project, including any gift, grant, loan, or appropriation
received by the port authority with respect thereto;
(23) "Substantial changes", with respect to an
established port improvement district, the addition or
removal of real property to or from the port improvement
district and any changes to the approved district funding
mechanism; and

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(24) "Taxpayer", a person or owner of real property
within the proposed district who would pay any real estate
or use tax as a result of the district establishment;
(25) "Water facilities", any facilities for the
furnishing and treatment of water for industrial,
commercial, agricultural, or community purposes including,
but not limited to, wells, reservoirs, dams, pumping
stations, water lines, sewer lines, treatment plants,
stabilization ponds, storm sewers, storm water detention and
retention facilities, and related equipment and machinery.
68.253. Notwithstanding any provision of sections
68.200 to 68.260 to the contrary, if the port authority is
the owner of all the real property within the proposed
district or existing district for which a substantial change
has been proposed or one hundred percent per capita of the
owners of all the real property within the proposed district
or existing district for which a substantial change has been
proposed have consented in writing to the creation of the
proposed district or substantial change, consideration of
the petition by the circuit court shall not be required. In
such event, certification of any question with respect to
any tax proposed to be levied or modified shall be made by
the board of port authority commissioners and thereafter
provided to the election authority as otherwise provided by
section 68.250.
[68.259. Notwithstanding the provisions of
section 1.140 to the contrary, the provisions of
sections 68.025, 68.035, 68.040, 68.057, 68.070,
68.200, 68.205, 68.210, 68.215, 68.220, 68.225,
68.230, 68.235, 68.240, 68.245, 68.250, 68.255,
and 68.260 as contained in this act shall be
severable, and if any provision is for any
reason held to be invalid, such decision shall
not invalidate any of the remaining provisions
of sections 68.025, 68.035, 68.040, 68.057,
68.070, 68.200, 68.205, 68.210, 68.215, 68.220,

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68.225, 68.230, 68.235, 68.240, 68.245, 68.250,
68.255, and 68.260 as contained in this act.]