2008 Missouri Legislative Preview: Joplin: Transportation and tax concerns emerge

O’Brian said that the chamber is encouraging local legislators to monitor funding generated by Amendment 3 to ensure that southwest Missouri continues to benefit.

The chamber also is looking to future projects.

“What happens in 2009 when all the Amendment 3 funds are expended?” O’Brian said.

The state must find ways to finance improvements to Interstates 44 and 70, O’Brian said.

“The current funding stream is just not going to do it,” he said.

The chamber also is encouraging the state and federal governments to upgrade Highway 71 from Interstate 44 to Kansas City to interstate quality. The corridor is part of the proposed Interstate 49.

Another highway priority, O’Brian said, is upgrading Highway 171 between Airport Drive and the Kansas state line.

“That is a critical safety issue,” he said, regarding the stretch that connects Joplin and Pittsburg, Kan.

The Joplin chamber is joining the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other groups in calling for the reversal of Schoemehl v. Treasurer of the State of Missouri, which awarded workers’ compensation benefits to the widow of a beneficiary who died of causes unrelated to his injury, O’Brian said.

O’Brian said he will pay attention to any economic development legislation including the proposed Missouri Voluntary Developer Agreement Law. The bill, backed by the Missouri Economic Development Council, allows local taxing districts to continue to enter into voluntary agreements with developers.

“It essentially allows taxing entities to work with other taxing units on a voluntary basis to determine how to support a development,” O’Brian said.

Around the delegation

Local legislators also are defining their own business-related priorities.

State Sen. Gary Nodler, R–Joplin, said he is monitoring proposals, such as House Bill 1639, that would change the laws regarding Aviation Trust Fund and air-traffic-control towers. Existing rules have limited the amount of funds that can go to projects at facilities such as the Joplin Regional Airport, Nodler said.

Nodler also is following Gov. Matt Blunt’s Insure Missouri program for families at or below the poverty level or who are ineligible for Medicare.

“(Health care) has a significant impact on small business, and it is important to all businesses as we move forward,” Nodler said.

State Rep. Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, is sponsoring House Bill 1341, which would establish Ethan’s Law, requiring the owner of a for-profit, privately owned swimming pool to maintain adequate liability insurance in the event of patron injury or death.

State Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, who is slated to serve as speaker if Republicans retain control of the House next year, returns as chairman of the committee on job creation and economic development.

Bills already assigned to Richard’s committee include House Bill 1568, which would allow the establishment of a Regional Economic Development Initiative to promote individual and business investments within a region through contributions to regional economic development organizations.

State Rep. Ed Emery, R–Lamar, said he plans to introduce legislation that would change how Missouri funds its state government.

“I think the biggest impact for Missouri businesses would be a fair tax,” Emery said.

Emery said his bill, similar to a proposal filed last year, would identify taxes, such as the income tax and the current state sales tax, to be eliminated and instruct the Department of Revenue to develop a revenue-neutral plan to collect the same amount via a tax on goods and services.

Estimates presented to a committee studying the issue between sessions estimated that the total tax on goods and services would be between 4.5 percent and 6 percent, Emery said.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions about how it would be implemented,” he added.