Jobs Legislation Heard in Committee
Just like the president delivers a State of the Union address “from time to time” to a joint session of Congress, Missouri’s governor delivers a State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly. On Tuesday evening, the governor gave his first State of the State speech, during which he laid out his legislative agenda. Several of his priorities include making Missouri the 28th Right to Work state, enacting tort reform and creating more well-paying jobs, all of which will lead to a stronger, more resilient economy.
On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Economic Development, of which I serve as chair, met for the first time this session. As I said in my opening remarks to the committee, I strongly believe that most of Missouri’s woes are a result of poor job growth and a stagnant economy. It is my goal to see that this committee focuses our energy on those measures that will facilitate economic growth in every corner of the state. As part of this effort, I presented two pieces of jobs legislation I am sponsoring this session.
Senate Bill 10 seeks to modify the Missouri Works program in order to apply some of the same best practices other states are using to develop a highly skilled workforce and attract new and expanding business opportunities. It was not that long ago when many states in the South were seriously hurting from an economic standpoint. Desperate for jobs, they learned to adapt to the needs of businesses, implementing more aggressive and streamlined workforce and economic development programs. Today, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama and North Carolina are leading the nation in new workforce development. More recently, Rust Belt states have begun following suit and are also reaping the rewards. These states are getting a great return on their investment. There is no reason we cannot do the same.
To remain competitive, I believe Missouri needs to do several things. First, we should move to a “one stop shop” system, where businesses looking to find, hire, train or retain employees in Missouri are assigned a single point of contact within the Department of Economic Development to assist them with everything they will need to get up and running.
Second, we need to place a greater emphasis on customized training programs. Contrary to popular belief, companies are not solely interested in whether a person has a degree or a certificate; rather, they want employees who show up on day one of the job with the specific skills and knowledge their company requires. Missouri’s 12 community colleges and one technical college are scattered almost perfectly throughout the state. These institutions are nimble and capable of more easily adapting to local business needs. By doing a better job of leveraging the higher education system we already have, we can take customized job training to the next level within a matter of years.
Third, we need to more wisely disperse our training dollars across businesses of all sizes, in both rural and urban areas. We also need to make it financially worthwhile for companies to invest in retooling their factories and retraining their employees. One idea is to pay for training by redirecting withholding tax on new employees for a period of time. Tax incentives are another option, but they may not be the most realistic given our current budget situation. Whatever approach we ultimately land on, clawback provisions should be included so that the state is protected from employers who do not hold up their end of the deal — either by failing to invest in their equipment or their people.
At this point, SB 10 is still very much a conversation, but it is a critical one we need to have if we do not want to be left behind. By restructuring our delivery system, really taking advantage of our robust network of community colleges and more wisely investing our job training dollars, Missouri will soon have the type of efficient workforce system the business community desires.
I also presented Senate Bill 11, which seeks to eliminate confusion surrounding “Chapter 100” projects. Named for the chapter of Missouri statutes that authorizes them, Chapter 100 projects — also known as Industrial Development Revenue bonds – are Missouri’s oldest form of economic development. Essentially, Chapter 100 allows a private company to utilize a local government’s tax exempt status in several ways in order to save costs on property taxes or the purchase of construction and equipment.
Chapter 100 projects were first formalized in Missouri’s 1947 Constitution. Later, statutory language was drafted to implement the constitutional provisions. The problem is that the list of statutorily eligible projects is different than the list of constitutionally eligible projects. Over time, this has led to so much confusion that it now takes a team of lawyers and accountants to determine project eligibility, which is both costly and burdensome. Senate Bill 11 will update the statutory language to match the constitutional language — simplifying the entire process and encouraging companies to take advantage of this resource and invest in Missouri.
If you have any questions or comments regarding your state government, please feel free to contact me at (573) 751-1503. You are also welcome to e-mail me at jay.wasson@senate.mo.gov.