The Missouri Constitution requires the special legislative session that began Monday to last at least five days.
Gov. Jay Nixon wants lawmakers to pass an incentives package worth up to $150 million a year, so the Boeing Co. will build its planned 777X commercial plane in Missouri rather than another of the more than a dozen states interested in the work.
If lawmakers approve, the incentives would be funded through four existing Missouri programs that help finance job training, make infrastructure improvements and reward companies for expanding their payrolls.
The Constitution - in Article III, Section 21 - says: "No law shall be passed except by bill" and requires "every bill (to) be read by title on three different days in each house."
That means any bill introduced to show lawmakers' approval of any Boeing incentives must be introduced on one day, assigned to a committee on a different day and then, if okayed by the committee, debated and voted on during a third day - before it can be sent to the other house, where the process must be repeated.
In this special session, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, introduced a two-page bill in the state Senate Monday. Senators are to return at 1 p.m. today so the bill can be read by name a second time and assigned to a committee.
The Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee, which Schmitt chairs, is scheduled to hear public comments on the bill during its 5 p.m. meeting today, in the Senate Lounge.
Floor leader Ron Richard, R-Joplin, told colleagues to expect the debate on the bill to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Assuming the Senate passes a bill Wednesday, it then would be sent to the House and be read for the first time in that chamber.
Then, under the constitutional mandates, the House would read the bill by name and assign it to a committee on Thursday.
To save some time and allow witnesses to testify before lawmakers in both houses on the same trip to the Capitol, the House Economic Development Committee also is scheduled to hold its public hearing tonight - after the Senate committee's hearing is over or at 7 p.m., "whichever is later."
However, the Constitutional language says the House can't debate or pass the bill until Friday.
If the House makes no changes to the Senate-passed language, the bill then would be sent to Nixon and the special session would end, since the Boeing economic development package is the only item in the governor's special session call - and the Constitution limits lawmakers' special session actions to "each matter on which action is deemed necessary" by the governor.
But if the House rejects the Senate-passed language, the special session also is over.
If the House changes the Senate-passed bill, then the Senate must accept the changes and send the bill to the governor, or reject the changes and ask for a conference committee to find compromise language that both chambers can agree on.
Boeing wants to know what Missouri will do by "the close of business" next Tuesday, Nixon told reporters.
A bill can become law only after both chambers approve the same version of the bill, and the governor signs it.