Purgason: Making Missouri Competitive In Global Job Market

The new year in the legislature seems like a repeat of the movie Ground Hog Day, the movie where Phil Connor wakes up each morning to the same day and a repeat of that day's actions.

We enter the year again with budget shortfalls and a federal government that cannot pay its bills --- a government that relies on printing and borrowing money to continue propping up failed job growth policies. We continue as a state to try to create job growth with the same old failed policies instead of taking the bold steps that are needed to create jobs and bring our state's economy into the 21^st Century.

One of these bold steps is to put Missouri into a competitive position with the states surrounding us. One of the ways we could do this is for Missouri to become a Right-to-Work (RTW) state. Most large companies, especially auto manufacturers, will not relocate to or locate in a state that is not RTW.

Testimony was held this week in committee on the RTW legislation [SB1]. The meeting was well-attended by unions and business groups. One of the interesting bits of testimony was from a consulting firm that tries to help companies find new areas to build their companies. Every year they work with up to twelve companies that are looking at locations to build their facilities. Over half of those companies say that they will only locate in states that are RTW, so Missouri loses out on over 50% of the opportunities before we ever get past the first round.

By the same token, none of the companies interviewed moved only to states that were not RTW. Almost all of the new car manufacturers have built their factories in RTW states.  The argument on this issue should not be about whether or not unions are good or bad. The argument should be about what we can do to create jobs in the state of Missouri.

Everyone talks about our being in a global economy and that we are not only competing with our neighboring states but also with the world.  We must do what we can to give Missouri the tools to keep our workforce healthy and in our state.  We must provide the next generation with family saving jobs.

While hearing the testimony from some of the union leaders I often wondered whether the testimony was designed to keep their jobs and not the jobs of the union members they represented.

We must do what we can to put Missouri in a competitive position and this proposal will meet much debate in the coming months.

The legislature also took up a resolution [SCR1] that challenged the authority of bureaucratic agencies to write rules contrary to legislative intent or approval. In this particular case, Proposition C was passed by the voters and contained a provision dealing with renewable energy. The language was unclear and the Public Service Commission took it upon itself to write rules that went well beyond what was passed.  When this happens, the legislature has the ability to challenge the rule with a resolution which must pass both the House and Senate.

The Senate convened as normal last Monday, but with an eye toward the weather. We were facing a deadline of confirming the governor's interim appointments this week. When the governor makes an appointment while the legislature is not in session, it is known as an interim appointment. All interim appointments must be confirmed by the Senate within 30 calendar days of convening. Any appointments not confirmed within this time are nullified.

Hearings were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday of last week, but the weather forced the cancellation of both. The governor now either has the choice of abandoning the appointments or withdrawing them and resubmitting them to the Senate.

The decision was made to try and work on Tuesday and see if the storm did indeed become a reality. After it became clear it was here to stay and accumulation was going to be significant, the Senate adjourned so staff could get home before becoming stranded at the Capitol.

Prior to leaving, the Senate gave first round approval to a bill [SB11] banning texting while driving for drivers of any age. The current law only prohibits texting while driving for those under the age of 21. One more vote is needed to send the measure to the House of Representatives.

Several legislators spent the night in the Capitol rather than risk running into the ditch trying to get to their apartments or hotel rooms. In my time in Jefferson City, I cannot remember a time when the weather was so bad lawmakers could not leave the building. So much for global warming --- where is it when you need it?

As always, you may contact me at 573-751-1882, e-mail to chuck{dot}purgason{at}senate{dot}mo{dot}gov or write to me at State Capitol, Room 416, 201 West Capitol Avenue, Jefferson City, MO 65101.