JEFFERSON CITY — Recently, the Senate returned from spring recess, a break that heralds the mid-point of our legislative session. However, before my colleagues and I left the Capitol, we managed to move forward on a number of measures.

Two bills the Senate sent to the House early in the session have been delivered to the governor and signed into law. Senate Bill 10 will create a $3 million annual tax credit available to sports commissions, certain nonprofit organizations, counties and municipalities that would offset expenses incurred to attract amateur sporting events to Missouri. Senate Bill 20, 15 & 19 is a legislative package that will reauthorize and extend certain benevolent tax credits, designed to assist various entities, such as pregnancy resource centers and food pantries.

This session, Senate priorities center on making our state a business-friendly environment, which will increase employment opportunities and economic development. One obstacle to that course is the insolvency of Missouri’s Second Injury Fund, which is addressed in Senate Bill 1. Sent to the House for consideration prior to the legislative break, SB 1 would create a temporary funding solution to assist the SIF in catching up with current demand, as well as modify certain definitions of occupational diseases, such as diseases caused by toxic exposure, to help streamline the fund’s overuse.

Another measure voted through the Senate that would promote job growth is Senate Bill 26, an act that would cut both individual and corporate state income tax by .75 percent over a five-year period and raise state sales and use tax from 4 to 4.5 percent in the same time frame. Cutting the state income tax rate and raising the state sales tax is a delicate balancing act that is aimed at helping Missourians’ bottom line.

Other legislation headed to the House that will benefit Missouri business is the Missouri Export Incentive Act, or Senate Bill 120. By changing certain tax-related provisions, SB 120 would create or extend incentives, such as the Neighborhood Preservation Act, or the Historic Preservation and Brownfield Remediation tax credits, as well as creating the Missouri Export Incentive Act, authorized tax credits for freight forwards out of the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Educating today’s young people is of the highest importance to many lawmakers. In order to provide the best possible education to Missouri’s young men and women, the Senate passed Senate Bill 7, an act that addresses removing the waiting period that starts when a school becomes accredited and ends when the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) appoints a temporary school board. At the current level it takes two years for an unaccredited school to receive board appointments from DESE. This law would change that to an immediate responsibility.

Many more bills were voted through the Senate on to the House for similar consideration. However, when focusing on Senate priorities, these were big winners. We have approximately six weeks of session remaining, with the major responsibility of the Legislature still looming in the next few weeks. Passing the state budget is the only constitutionally mandated job the General Assembly has to accomplish, and there is no doubt in my mind that by May 10, the deadline for the budget, the Legislature will pass a fiscally responsible budget that works for the citizens of Missouri. This date will be followed up closely by May 17, the final day of the First Session of the 2013 General Assembly. It will take time, effort and debate, but I look forward to debating all aspects of budget bills and using my previous knowledge to assist with something so vital.

These first few months have been quite productive. I anticipate many more such busy weeks to come.