As long as I have been in the Missouri Legislature, it has been my consistent goal to improve our state’s business climate. Fortunately, over the past several years, I believe we have enacted several new laws that make the Show-Me State more attractive in the eyes of job creators, but we still have a way to go.
In my opinion, government’s role is not to “create” jobs; rather, it is to come up with a roadmap that allows business owners to expand and new industry to come to our state. In some instances, I believe government’s part in this is to simply move out of the way and keep regulations as low as possible; otherwise, it becomes more difficult to achieve the goal of making our state that much more competitive.
Also, improving the business climate in Missouri is not as simple as passing one bill, and then watching unemployment numbers drop. There many aspects to this concept. These can range from offering incentives to business owners to move to Missouri, to having the best infrastructure in place for new industry to move here, to ensuring we have the most streamlined legal processes in place for these organizations. To this end, I am sponsoring Senate Bill 3 this session, which would decrease the statute of limitations for personal injury claims from five years to two years. While this may not sound like a jobs bill, it seeks to make Missouri more palatable to existing and potential business owners.
Again, I believe there are many ways to help make Missouri’s business climate more appealing. And, I am not the only lawmaker who feels this way. We have not only a number of elected officials who want to see our state with this goal in mind, but thousands of Missourians who would also love to see more industry come here, and expand those great companies that have already chosen the Show-Me State for their home. Rest assured, all of us will continue to work toward a brighter tomorrow as we move through this year.
As always, please feel free to call, email or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.