Last fall, the halls of Missouri’s Capitol were filled with discussion about the failed Mam-tek factory at Moberly. . .a plant that never produced anything despite heavy subsidies from the city and the state.

Moberly passed a $39 million bond issue to build the Mam-tek plant and the state pledged millions in additional incentives.

Since the plant never produced the artificial sweetener it was supposed to make, two state legislative committees were launched to find out what went wrong.

Now, heading into the final week of their annual session, Missouri lawmakers will be considering whether to send Governor Nixon legislation to hopefully keep the same thing from happening again elsewhere in Missouri.

The new legislation, which has passed the House and is pending in the Senate, would require state and local officials to share information about companies asking for state tax breaks.  It would also require cities to do a better job of checking out the companies that ask for their bond money.

- Bob Hamilton, KMOX News