The Missouri House of Representatives brought the 2013 legislative session to a close May 17.
Upon adjournment, House Speaker Tim Jones and members of the House Majority Caucus held a press conference to discuss this session’s new legislation.
“It was a session of historic accomplishments and substantive reforms that will improve the quality of life for all Missouri families and pave the way for a better business environment for Missouri employers, workers and job creators,” Jones said in the press conference.
The House majority focused on legislation concerning Jones’ “Triple E Agenda,” which deals with economic development, energy and education.
According to Jones, one of the most substantial accomplishments regarding economic policy was the passage of the Broad-Based Tax Relief Act, which reduces the income tax for owners, partners and shareholders of small businesses. The bill is one of the most aggressive tax reforms in nearly a century, Jones said.
Jones said states across the country that show economic success share three main policies, including low taxes.
“(States that are succeeding) have a certain tax policy that’s fair and low to job creators and small businesses. They have a fair labor policy that treats workers and employers on a leveled playing field and provides the ultimate worker freedom. And they have a fair litigation policy that let’s those go who are going to go to court know with certainty what the outcome is going to be.”
Jones also celebrated the passage of a proposal changing the state’s workers compensation system and addressing the state’s insolvent second injury fund, which has more than $25 million in unpaid claims. This fund covers increased disabilities result of work-related injuries.
“The second injury fund was a failure,” Jones said. “It was insolvent. It could not take care of workers or job creators.”
Legislation regarding energy includes a bill that modified provisions related to ratemaking for gas corporations and a bill to ensure good-quality wireless communication services are available throughout Missouri.
Regarding education, Jones said he focused on funding and reform, increasing funding up to 33 percent of the state’s revenue, above the 25 percent constitutionally-required threshold.
This year’s budget provided a $66 million increase for K-12 education, a $25 million increase for higher education and an additional $10 million for MU’s medical building and medical program.
“We made sure that we provided historic levels of funding for K-12 education and also funded higher educations at higher levels this year,” Jones said. “We’ve either held the line or increased funding through education all through the economic crisis.”
The budget also increased rates for providers who care for the mentally disabled and increased funding for programs for the mentally ill.
Budget Committee Chair Rep. Rick Stream, R-Kirkwood, said he specially recognized Health Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Sue Allen, R- St. Louis, for passing legislation regarding mental health.
“She was able to shift that money so that it went directly to people in the state of Missouri in the mental health area, in the disabled area and a lot of different areas where they hadn’t been receiving help before,” he said.
The closing item on this year’s House Majority Caucus agenda was accountability and oversight. Jones said the House took on its constitutional duty to investigate issues such as fraud and overreach by the executive level.
“These stories are sweeping the nation right now,” Jones said. “Whether its hard questions that need to be asked on the federal level dealing with the Benghazi scandal, or President (Barack) Obama’s IRS, or down here in the state with Governor (Jay) Nixon’s DOR, Missourians and citizens across this country are tired of government overreach, tired of government abuse, tired of government going beyond the scope of the law and violating the very law that they are also sworn to uphold and protect.”
In a separate press conference, Rep. Jacob Hummel, D-St. Louis, from the House Minority Caucus categorized this year’s legislative session as an “abject failure,” claiming that the legislative body failed to create 24,000 jobs by not expanding Medicaid and the $800 million tax cut done through Broad-Based Tax Relief Act hurt funding for higher education.
“Clearly, we had three E’s; they just happened to be extremism, extremism and extremism,” Hummel said. “If you have a supermajority, why on Earth do you have to silence the minority? Because you don’t want anyone to hear that your extremism agenda is bad for the state of Missouri.”
