Joe Smith: Special Session Overview

This week, the House fulfilled the Governor's call and convened for a Special Session. He ordered the General Assembly back to the Capitol to pass two bills which were debated during the regular Session; one being a piece of legislation that would provide tax incentives for automotive manufacturers and suppliers - the other seeking to revamp the state employee retirement system.

The Governor's call was surprising for several reasons:

• The Governor didn't express interest in these issues during the regular session. He did not list them as priorities.
• The House and Senate didn't have a consensus on these issues during the regular Session, nor did the Governor work with us to gain the consensus needed.
• Missouri tax dollars pay for Special Session, and in a time when fiscal responsibility is a top priority, it seems that the wisest decision would have been for the Governor to lobby the bills during the regular Session and work with members to reach a consensus.

Even though I believe there was a better way to go about the passage of this legislation, the Governor made the call to Special Session and we answered that call.  House Republicans acted swiftly, utilizing as few Missouri tax-payer dollars as possible. In fact, we only held debate for one day. We worked ahead of time to gain the consensus needed to pass both bills.

Growing Missouri Jobs

Under the leadership of Speaker Ron Richard, Republicans in the House of Representatives have been champions for economic development in our state.

HCS House Bill 2, sponsored by Representative Jerry Nolte, R-Gladstone, was passed in the House several times but stalled in the Senate.  The bill provides tax incentives for automotive manufacturers and suppliers in Missouri.

By reducing the amount of tax dollars these companies would owe the State of Missouri, they are able to create more jobs and retain the employees already in place.

As you know, the down economy has left thousands of Missourians unemployed.  With the number of jobless citizens on the rise, job creation and retention is imperative. We are hopeful the Senate will adopt this bill quickly so it can be sent to the Governor for final approval.

Re-organization of State Employee Retirement Benefits

The State of Missouri has an extensive and quite generous set of retirement benefits for employees. However, given economic conditions and declining revenue numbers, the current system is unsustainable.  Because of fiscal restrictions, a change needs to be made.

HCS House Bill 1, sponsored by Representative Viebrock R—Republic, makes the necessary changes needed to allow the state retirement system to thrive in years to come.

Attracting responsible, hard-working employees is something the State of Missouri takes very seriously, so we must be careful to continue to have an attractive retirement package, just not one that could bankrupt the state.

In addition, we want to ensure fairness to current state employees.  Through this legislation, existing employees would retain the retirement benefits they receive in the current system.

A fiscally responsible retirement package that our state can afford, while continuing to attract good employees to Missouri government jobs is important -- and we accomplished that through this bill.