Korman: Constitutional Amendment Would Mandate Tax Credit Review Every Four Years

Since early September, the Missouri House has worked diligently to pass a fair and effective economic development package that creates jobs and ensures the effectiveness of our economic development tools. On Thursday, October 20^th, the House took another step toward this goal by passing HJR 1 with a large, bipartisan vote.

HJR 1 is a proposed constitutional amendment requiring the General Assembly to review all tax credit programs every four years. If approved, it would require the Majority Floor Leaders of the House and Senate to propose a separate bill or concurrent resolution ending each individual tax credit program. Each bill or resolution is required to quickly move through the legislative process to the floor of the House or Senate for a vote.

All tax credit programs should be reviewed periodically to make sure they are working as designed. However, the programs deserve an up or down vote by the General Assembly. HJR 1 ensures that each program lives or dies on its own merit by requiring the House and Senate to vote on each program with a recorded vote by the fiftieth legislative day. This keeps one representative or senator from killing a program for political reasons.

I enjoyed Missouri Day on Wednesday, October 19, 2011, by visiting schools in the 99^th District and talking with approximately 495 4^th grade students about Missouri Day. Thanks to all the students for making it a great Missouri Day.

There are still openings for free counseling for the Medicare Part D enrollment event on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. at the Warren County Scenic Regional Library, 912 South Highway 4 in Warrenton. Please call toll-free 1-800-390-3330 to reserve a time slot for expert and personal assistance. The open-enrollment period for Medicare Part D, the federal prescription-drug program, is from October 15 to November 7, 2011.

Please feel free to stop by or contact your 99^th District office at:
201 W Capitol Ave., Office 114C, Jefferson City, MO 65101 573-751-2689
Bart{dot}Korman{at}house{dot}mo{dot}gov