Brandom: Getting Missouri Back on Track

We in the Legislature are putting forward a plan to put Missouri back to work by getting out of the way. Preparing a skilled workforce through education is important, but we are also focused on reducing the size of government to appropriate levels.

We want to cap franchise taxes, restore balance to Missouri’s employment laws and fix bad judicial decisions in the workers’ compensation system. If we can move forward on issues that help Missouri’s working families and those that employ them, prosperity will soon follow.

In response to the business community, we addressed a court ruling (Franklin vs. Certain Teed Corp.) that moved occupational disease claims from the workers compensation system into the courts. Our new legislation reverses these claims

The bill [HB162] permits appropriate compensatory damages to once again be determined by the workers compensation system. In addition, the bill specifies that an employer and his or her employees will not be liable for any injury or death for which compensation is recoverable under provisions or workers compensation. Simply stated, that if you’re at work, doing your job, your co-worker gets injured, they will no longer be able to hold you civilly liable for money damages.

The result of this bill will be a reduction in liability insurance cost for small businesses and less of a burden on our court system.

We have a very tough job ahead of us in the Legislature and there is no simple solution. Cuts will have to be made everywhere. Our focus is on jobs and keeping education fully-funded. Over the next three months, we will be dealing with the budget for FY 2012.

When times are tough optimism often comes from looking to the future. One way we can do that is by focusing on education. Whether it is returning to school ourselves and learning a new trade or making sure our children attain the necessary skills for the 21^st century workforce, education is critical for our future.

It’s also important when we think about education to focus on students and teachers in the classroom, not administrators, bureaucracy, or the seemingly endless hoops we have to jump through just to makes simple changes. We also have to keep in mind another component of education and that is the funding we allocate from the state.

The House Budget Committee unanimously passed the first two appropriations bills [HB14, HB15] of the year. An important highlight includes ensuring education funding will remain the exact same amount through the formula for FY 2011 and FY 2012. What this means for our local schools is the formula money will not be less than it was for this year.

I would be amiss if I did not mention the challenging weather we have all faced these past two weeks. Just for your information I would like to include a website address that describes the road conditions throughout Missouri. http://www.modot.mo.gov/

As always, please contact me if you have questions on this or any other issue. My toll-free number is 866-834-9219 or you can email me at Ellen{dot}Brandom{at}house{dot}mo{dot}gov


On a personal note, I wanted to thank everyone who visited my office during this past session. It is always a pleasure to have friends, neighbors, and constituents visit.

At left: Representative Ellen Brandom along with Sharon Pace, Anne Zerr, Michele Kratky, and Rochelle Gray participating in “Go Red” day at the Capitol in support of the American Heart Association and heart disease and stroke awareness

At right: Cathy Teachout, with the Bootheel Counseling Service, visited Representative Brandom to share important issues facing the Missouri Coalition for Community Mental Health Centers