Session Well Underway
The First Session of the 99th General Assembly is now well underway. The budget has had its first committee hearing and other bills have begun to make their way through the legislative process.
One key piece of legislation that was passed this week, Senate Bill 16, will benefit Missourians now and for years to come. This legislation ensures usual and customary delivery charges that are stated separately from the sale price shall not be subject to sales and use taxes. Last year, a Missouri Supreme Court case determined the charges for delivery of a rented crane from a construction company could be taxed because the cost to deliver the crane was intended to be part of the crane rental. The Department of Revenue then applied that standard to sales tax collection for any product that could fall under that circumstance and therefore replaced years of interpretation that all separate charges for deliveries were sales tax exempt. The department had essentially raised taxes overnight and forced companies across the state to change longstanding business and billing practices. The bill now moves to the House and upon its final passage will bring a simple standard back to all companies that charge for delivery.
This year I was honored to be selected to serve on the Gubernatorial Appointments committee. With a new administration comes several appointments that are interviewed and approved by the committee before being approved by the full Senate. This week the Senate confirmed several of the governor’s new cabinet appointments including Department of Agriculture Director Chris Chinn, Office of Administration Commissioner Sarah Steelman, Department of Public Safety Director Charles “Drew” Juden, Department of Corrections Director Anne Precythe, and Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer.
I had the pleasure of having several conversations with each of the cabinet officials and was very pleased with the directions they want to take their respective departments. I look forward to seeing how each of the state departments can improve under their new leadership and be responsive to the requests and needs of all Missourians.
It is an honor to be your State Senator and my door is always open to your concerns, questions or comments. Please feel free to contact me at (573) 751-2757 or visit my web page at www.senate.mo.gov/riddle.