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Kehoe, as well as House Majority Leader Alex Riley, R-Springfield, and Sen. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, are among a contingent of Missouri officials heading to France next week to meet with government and business leaders, spokeswoman Gabby Picard said Monday.

Kehoe’s trip, which begins June 16, follows in a long line of gubernatorial trade missions. The five-day junket is being organized by the Hawthorn Foundation, which receives funding from businesses and the state to promote economic development in Missouri.

Taxpayers typically cover the costs of accompanying security or representatives from state agencies.

The trip marks the latest milestone in a busy month for the governor.

The legislative special session now underway to address the future of Kansas City’s professional sports teams and approve aid for tornado damage in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ crossed its biggest hurdle in the state Senate last week.

The package, worth more than $1.5 billion over 30 years, now awaits action in the House, where on Monday leaders scheduled committee hearings for Tuesday in anticipation of a possible floor vote Wednesday.

Quick approval is expected, helping Kehoe counter an offer that Kansas made last year, dangling a sales tax bonding program that could pay up to 70% of construction costs for new stadiums.

The offer from Kansas is set to expire June 30. Kansas House Speaker Daniel Hawkins has stated the deadline will not be extended.

Missouri’s plan, hammered out in the Senate early Thursday morning, includes funding for new stadium construction for the Royals, renovations for the Chiefs and Cardinals, nearly $200 million in disaster relief for Missouri citizens and $50 million for a nuclear research reactor at the University of Missouri.

The measure also includes a provision capping property tax increases in 97 counties, including St. Charles. Seventeen counties are not affected, including ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ city and county.

In order for the limitations to apply, counties must submit the proposal to their respective voters by April 2026.

The tax relief provisions were part of a demand by the Senate’s conservative Freedom Caucus, but the push took a political toll on the faction's leader.

On Friday, Sen. Rick Brattin resigned as chairman after voting in favor of stadium plan, amid outcry from the previous Freedom Caucus leader Bill Eigel, a former state senator who came in second to Kehoe in last year’s race for governor.

The group had complained the stadium deal is a “handout to billionaire sports team owners.�

Brattin said in a video, “If we’re going to be giving handouts to millionaires and billionaires, we need broad-based tax relief for people.�

“To me, this was a massive win,� Brattin said. “On the stadium, they were going to get the votes, whatever it took. So I tried to weigh this out and make lemonade from the lemons we were given.� 

Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, was announced as the new Freedom Caucus chairman Monday.

Republican Rep. Sean Pouche, whose district ranges from north Kansas City to St. Joseph, was among lawmakers in the Capitol on Monday preparing for the House to take up the measure.

Pouche said the biggest hurdle for him is the property tax issue, primarily because it could limit funding for schools and local governments.

“That’s something that really needs to be looked at,� Pouche said. “What’s the trickle down to local communities? How do you expect the communities to deal with it for budgeting purposes long term?�