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Capitol Briefing

October 2010

 

 
Legislation Passed During Special Session Takes Effect

 

Members Continue Committee Work and
Prepare to Prefile Measures for 2011 Session

 

 

 

JEFFERSON CITY — Two bills — legislation creating tax incentives in order to develop or retain jobs and a measure changing the state employee pension system — passed by the General Assembly during the 2010 special session took effect on Oct. 12, 90 days after the special session concluded.

House Bill 2, also known as the Manufacturing Jobs Act, provides tax incentives for qualified auto suppliers or manufacturing facilities that create or retain jobs in Missouri.  The legislation, handled by Sen. Luann Ridgeway (R-Smithville), allows certain companies to retain a total amount of withholding taxes at $10 million a year, while the total amount of available tax incentives is capped at $15 million each year for 10 years.  In addition, qualified companies must meet a specific set of requirements to receive these tax incentives.  Those companies that qualify are prohibited from simultaneously receiving benefits from multiple tax incentive programs.

The legislation was designed to keep Kansas City area- based Ford Motor Company in the state to manufacture a new product line at its existing automotive plant.  In October the manufacturing company announced that it is launching a new line of trucks at this facility.

Click here to listen to the This Week in the Missouri Senate for the week of Oct. 11, 2010.  This audio program features Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph) and Senate Minority Floor Leader Victor Callahan (D-Independence) discussing the Manufacturing Jobs Act.

The other measure recently enacted into law that was passed during the special session was House Bill 1.  Handled by Sen. Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau), the measure modifies the retirement system for any person who becomes a new state employee on or after Jan. 1, 2011.  However, changes found in the legislation do not affect current state employees.

More specifically, members of the new pension system under HB 1 are required to contribute 4 percent of their pay to the retirement system and work for the state for at least 10 years to gain ownership of their benefits.  For regular retirement eligibility, employees need to reach age 67 and have at least 10 years of service, or reach age 55 with the sum of their age and service equaling at least 90, according to the new plan.  Currently, state employees must be 62 with five years of service or have a combined age and service of 80 years.

Click here to listen to the Senate Minute for Oct. 12, 2010.  This audio program features Sen. Shields and Sen. Callahan’s comments on the new pension system.

As the 2011 legislative session quickly approaches, lawmakers assigned to several legislative committees by the Senate President Pro Tem and Minority Floor Leader during the September veto session work to prepare their final recommendations for the General Assembly.  Each of the committees listed below were created by legislation passed by the Legislature during the 2010 regular legislative session.

The Joint Committee on the Reduction and Reorganization of Programs within State Government was created with the passage of House Bill 1868.  The panel is charged with creating recommendations to reduce, eliminate, or combine state programs with other programs in the same or different departments.  Committee members include Sen. Bill Stouffer (R-Napton), Sen. Rob Mayer (R-Dexter), Sen. Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield), Sen. Joan Bray (D-St. Louis), and Sen. Tim Green (D-St. Louis).

House Bill 1848 is responsible for the creation of the Joint Committee on Urban Farming.  This committee is responsible for studying and making recommendations regarding the impact of urban farm cooperatives, vertical farming, and sustainable living communities in the state.  Through this study, committee members must examine trends in urban farming, existing resources and capacity for urban farming, the impact of urban farming on the community, and any needed state legislation or policies regarding this issue.  Those sitting on the panel include Sen. Dan Clemens (R-Marshfield), Sen. Jim Lembke (R-St. Louis), Sen. Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia), Sen. Rita Heard Days (D-St. Louis), and Sen. Jolie Justus (D-Kansas City), who handled HB 1848 in the Missouri Senate.

In an effort to help streamline state government though the Missouri Senate’s “Rebooting Government” initiative, legislation sponsored by Sen. Shields created the Joint Committee on Missouri’s PromiseSenate Bill 1067, later passed in House Bill 1965, established the committee which is tasked with developing long-term strategies and plans for issues that will impact the future of the state of Missouri.  In addition, the committee must implement budget forecasting in order to plan for the long-term financial soundness of state government.  Members serving on the panel include Sen. David Pearce (R-Warrensburg), Sen. Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles), Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Glendale), Sen. Jolie Justus, and Sen. Joseph Keaveny (D-St. Louis).

The Joint Interim Committee on Reducing the Size of State Government is another Rebooting Government initiative passed by the General Assembly.  Those legislators assigned to the committee, Sen. Jason Crowell, Sen. Jack Goodman (R-Mount Vernon), Sen. Scott T. Rupp (R-Wentzville), Sen. Kurt Schaefer, Sen. Joan Bray, Sen. Tim Green, and Sen. Yvonne Wilson (D-Kansas City), are all responsible for examining each department and agency in Missouri government in order to determine programs and bureaucracies that could be eliminated or reduced.  The committee is also charged with developing recommendations and strategies for reducing the overall size of state government.  The joint interim committee was created by Senate Concurrent Resolution 54, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Purgason (R-Caulfield).

The legislative panels noted above must submit a report with their respective recommendations to the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2010.  To see a complete list of committees in the Missouri Senate, including standing, interim, select, special, statutory, and past committees, visit www.senate.mo.gov and click on the “Committees” link.

While lawmakers wrap up their committee work for 2010, many members are preparing to prefile their measures for the 2011 legislative session.  Prefiling begins Dec. 1, 2010 and may continue up to, but not including, the first day of session, which begins Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011.

This update is written monthly during the interim. To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can track legislation as it passes through the General Assembly, learn more about their district, or, when the Legislature is in session, listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens. For more legislative news, please visit the Senate Newsroom . There you will find various audio and video programs and other services, such as:  

  • Missouri Legislative Update  (MLU) – A video program produced periodically throughout the year that provides an overview of the news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives. The program features news interviews with lawmakers and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
  • Capital Dialogue  – Missourinet's Bob Priddy hosts this monthly half-hour roundtable program bringing legislators together from the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives from different political parties to discuss their positions on specific issues and legislation.
  • This Week in the Missouri Senate  – A weekly five-minute audio program that wraps up the week’s news in the Missouri Senate. Programs are posted online every Friday in .mp3 format.
  • Senate Minute  – A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news. Programs are posted in .mp3 format and are available through podcast.
  • Daily Audio / Video Clips – Throughout the year, the Senate Newsroom posts broadcast-quality audio and video highlights from Senate committee hearings, floor debate, press conferences and other legislative events.
  • Daily News Clips – The Senate Newsroom compiles daily news clips from various print and online publications that cover issues relating to the Legislature and state government. An archive of past clips is maintained online and is offered as a subscription service.

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