Hoskins: Beautiful Weather As Session Lingers

The weather has been absolutely beautiful; making for very pleasant travel within the 121^st district and to our State’s Capitol.

It is good to finally see the water level receding over the past few weeks. Previously flooded roadways are currently being repaired by MoDOT in preparation of safe travel and soon travel will be back to normal across the state.

Today’s trip to the Capitol has seen the previous week’s efforts rewarded with consensus under the dome on important jobs legislation.

House of Representatives Activity

SCS SB 1 was debated on the floor, third read, and passed, by a vote of 139 to 2. This bill modifies provisions relating to communications between school district employees and students by repealing the prohibition on a teacher using an internet site to exclusively communicate with a current or former student.

SS SCS SB 7 passed the Missouri House by a vote of 94 to 48. This is the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) I am sure you have all heard about. To give you a better understanding of what this bill does, it takes a picture, if you will, of the current Science and Innovation Industry in Missouri (ie. number of jobs, state tax revenue generated from those jobs, etc.). This creates the base figures upon which subsequent years figures are compared. If next year the industry generates more state tax revenue than the base figures, those additional tax revenues are reinvested into the industry to create jobs. This has a multiplying effect on the industry and on jobs for Missourians. The more jobs the industry produces, the greater the tax revenue generated to be used to create more jobs.

District News

I was very pleased to see last Wednesday’s Eggs & Issues received such a large turnout. It was certainly a pleasure sharing information from the Capitol and listening to the comments and concerns of my constituents. Hope to see you all there again.

Next Wednesday, Sept. 28, I plan on stopping by UCM for the 2011 Missouri Business Conference hosted by Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler. I hope to make it in time for the opening remarks.

Ways to Keep in Contact

I consider communication with my constituents a high priority. My weekly Monday morning chat at 8:45 a.m. with Woody at KOKO Radio on AM 1450 is one of the best ways I’ve found for you to literally “hear” from me. During session or interim, tune in every Monday morning at 8:45 to hear the latest concerning District 121.

Please share this report with anyone you feel would be interested in this information. It is genuinely a privilege to serve as your state representative.