This week the Missouri Senate put in some long hours, but was able to work through some contentious issues.  On Tuesday afternoon, we took up the economic development bill and discussed it for several hours.  This bill addressed a variety of issues, but most of the debate centered around tax credits.  This has been an ongoing discussion for several years as the amount of tax credits issued and redeemed continues to climb.  The bill received first round approval as the 4:00 am hour approached. 

Another portion of the bill dealt with the technology of data storage centers.  As more companies, governments, and individuals rely on outside parties to back up their computers, data storage centers are a growing business.  The facilities can be built anywhere, but require a tremendous amount of electricity and a stable environment.  This makes Missouri an ideal location for this industry. 

I had introduced a bill early in the session to provide incentives designed to bring these data storage facilities to Missouri.  During the committee process this bill was combined with others to produce the overall economic development legislation.  As this is a relatively new technology, I hosted a tour of an existing data storage center for my colleagues a couple weeks ago.  It was an interesting and informative morning, and a lot of knowledge was gained on the subject.  Today the bill was given final approval and sent to the House of Representatives for their consideration. 

A bill that passed this week by a surprisingly large margin was a piece of legislation allowing schools to teach the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program, or something similar, to first grade students. The Eddie Eagle program was developed by the NRA and has been taught to over 25 million students since it was started in 1988.  It focuses solely on gun safety and accident prevention.  The bill also contained a provision allowing for a training program to be taught to school personnel about what to do in the case of an armed intruder.  The legislation passed the Missouri Senate by a vote of 32-2. 

With the winter weather rolling in this week, we did not have nearly as many visitors to the office this week, but a few brave souls found their way to the Capitol.  They included Darrell Pollock, Ashley Rains, and Judy Fortner from Lebanon and Jerry Sukovaty and Billy Dryer from Polk County.  Ed Watkins, Doug Kiburz, and Gary McMullen came by to visit about the proposed Trail’s End monument for Sedalia commemorating its beginnings as a cattle shipping town.