By Ray McCarty, President and CEO, Associated Industries of Missouri We received a call Tuesday, August 1, from a CBS Evening News producer wanting to do a story on Senate Bill 43, the employment law reform bill we helped pass in the last legislative session. Specifically, the producer said the story was on the NAACP’s travel advisory. We agreed to be interviewed by them and they brought a very professional crew into our offices. Ms. Jericka Duncan, an Emmy-nominated CBS News

The Environmental Protection Agency has taken the first steps to increasing the regulation of ozone by publishing the new proposed  rule in the Federal Register today.  Click here for the actual 179 page document.  Comments on the rule, that would lower the allowable ozone threshold to 65-70 ppb and is estimated to result in all but three counties in Missouri becoming nonattainment areas, are due to the EPA by March 17, 2015.  We will be giving you further instructions on how

This week, we saw some activity on SCS SB 509 & 496, a tax cut bill in the Missouri Senate. This bill, as approved by the Senate Ways and Means Committee, was a combination of Senator Eric Schmitt’s SB 496 that contained AIM’s business income deduction for flow-through entities and Senator Will Kraus’ SB 509 (originally a 1% cut in individual income tax plus 50% business income deduction over 10 years of $100m+ growth, exemption of first $25,000 of C corporation income, addit

In what has become an annual exercise in futility, Associated Industries of Missouri once again testified in support of a joint resolution, sponsored by Sen. Brad Lager (R-12, Savannah), that would allow voters to decide if they want to impose a spending limit on the Missouri General Assembly. The measure would establish a limit on state appropriations equal to the amount appropriated in the previous year plus any increase in inflation plus any increase in population, if reve

January 3, 2014 – Much has been written about the so-called “border war” between Missouri and Kansas, and whether or not tax incentives should be used to attract businesses from one state to the other.  The conversation often involves incentives in the Kansas City metropolitan area, where only State Line Road divides the two states. Political leaders and economic development officials on the Missouri side of the border have called for an end to such incentives.  Kansas Govern

LETTER TO HOUSE LEADERS: The organizations listed below represent many Missouri employers.  On behalf of these employers, we respectfully request that HCS SS#2 SCS Senate Bill 1 be returned to the committee of origin for further amendment. Because of the haste with which the House Committee on Workforce Development and Workplace Safety acted upon this House Committee Substitute, there was no opportunity to offer constructive amendments that could have resulted in a workable b

AIM President Ray McCarty testified this week before the Senate Appropriations Committee on SB 349, a bill sponsored by Senator Paul LeVota (D-Independence) that would expand Missouri’s Medicaid program, Mo HealthNet. McCarty testified that Associated Industries of Missouri only supports Medicaid expansion if it is combined with or preceded by transformation of the Mo HealthNet system.  “The current system is inefficient and results in duplicated services, waste, fraud and ab

Click here for the Senate committee appointments: http://www.senate.mo.gov/13info/com-standing.htm We will be working closely with Senators for the benefit of all Missouri’s 124,000 employers. #Committee #Members #missouri #Senate

AIM member Pro Food Systems, Inc., the parent company of Champs Chicken, is expanding again.  Shawn Burcham, president and CEO of Pro Foods, tells their story in a great article that appeared in the December 1 edition of the Columbia Daily Tribune.  Click here to view the article. Pro Food Systems, Inc., the parent company of Champs Chicken, is a program-oriented wholesale food and equipment company specializing in complete deli operations. They provide layout assistance, ins

Governor Nixon has named a former budget director under the Holden Administration the new Director of Revenue.  Brian Long replaces Alana Barragan-Scott will now be an Administrative Law Judge. Click here for the press release #Nixon #missouri #BarraganScott #Alana #director #revenue #appoint #governor #BrianLong #dor

July 10, 2012 – Governor Jay Nixon has signed several bills today, including several priority bills of interest to Associated Industries of Missouri (AIM) members. The Governor signed HB 1540, an AIM-supported bill that will prevent employees from suing each other in most worker’s compensation cases.  AIM led the charge to correct a flaw in the law that had been used by plaintiff’s attorneys to sue co-employees in regular work situations – injuries that should have been cover

Following a meeting this afternoon between Senate Ways and Means Chairman Chuck Purgason, Representative Jerry Nolte and I, Senator Purgason posted a hearing of his committee for tomorrow on HB 1639, the Broad Based Tax Relief Act of 2012. In the meeting, Senator Purgason indicated his willingness to move the part of the bill forward that would reduce the tax burden of EVERY Missouri employer by 50% over five years. “Associated Industries of Missouri applauds both Senator Pur

This morning, Senator Chuck Purgason, Chairman of the Senate Ways and Means and Fiscal Oversight Committee, reported HB 1403 to the Missouri Senate floor. HB 1403 is the worker’s compensation bill that addresses both the occupational disease and co-employee issues. Although it currently contains language regarding the Second Injury Fund, that language will be removed in a Senate Substitute. The bill could be taken up at any time. Session ends one week from tomorrow, May 18

With two weeks remaining in the 2012 Legislative Session, important business priorities remain unresolved. Two bills that would address issues with worker’s compensation (preventing employees from suing each other in workplace accident situations, and continuing to provide coverage for occupational diseases within the worker’s compensation system) are pending in the Missouri Senate.  HB 1403 addresses both of these issues while HB 1540 would only fix the co-employee lawsuit i

Rep. Jerry Nolte led passage today of a broad based tax cut that lowers taxes for every Missouri business.  Income taxes would be reduced by 50% over five years, provided income tax revenues continue to grow.  Associated Industries of Missouri has supported the bill since its inception last year. The bill will now move to the Missouri Senate. #missouri #industries #tax #associated #broadbased #relief #Nolte

April 27 – The legislature has just three weeks to resolve differences and pass several important issues.  And while the clock continues to “tick”, progress was made on several fronts this week. The Missouri Senate passed their version of the 2013 state budget, following lengthy filibusters and unusual recesses that allowed senators to rewrite certain parts of the budget (click here for more details).  The budget has been reported to the Missouri House.  The House could simpl

Ameren Missouri Continues to Plan for Missouri’s Energy Future ST. LOUIS (April 19, 2012) — Today, Ameren Missouri, a utility company of Ameren Corporation (NYSE: AEE), announced it has entered into an agreement with Westinghouse Electric Company, a proven, global leader in nuclear energy and small modular reactor technology development, to exclusively support Westinghouse’s application for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Small Modular Reactors (SMR) investment funds of up t

April 12 – Well, as you can tell by the headline, it has been a very busy 24 hours! Our tax cut bill, HB 1639, sponsored by Representative Jerry Nolte, advanced from the House Rules Our standalone whistle-blower bill that will protect employees that are alerting authorities to truly illegal acts by their employer, HB 2099, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Elmer, has advanced from committee and will be sent to the House Rules Committee.  Also, a committee substitute for SB 592, with th

April 11 – AIM President Ray McCarty testified before a House Committee yesterday in favor of two bills that would reform protections for employees claiming “whistle blower” protection under Missouri’s employment law. While many committee members expressed agreement with at least some components of HB 2099, a bill that reforms only the “whistle blower” statutes, vigorous discussion ensued when the committee opened testimony on SB 592, a broader bill that aligns Missouri’s dis