By ROB MAYER

More than 280,000 Missourians are out of work. The alarm is sounding. Missouri can no longer continue to do business as usual and expect things to change. That is why, in the Missouri Senate, we are moving forward with several plans this session that are part of an equation to help employers put Missourians back to work in good-paying jobs with benefits. Making Missouri a “Right to Work” state is part of that equation. And we begin the debate on “Right to Work” on the Senate floor today.

Currently, Missouri is missing out on new jobs because companies are drawn to other states with better worker protection laws. Fifty percent of manufacturers refuse to consider Missouri as a place to locate new jobs because we have no protections against forced unionization of our workers – that’s according to testimony given to the Senate General Laws Committee by Mark Sweeney, a site location consultant who works to find new plant sites for both domestic and foreign manufacturing companies. He says Missouri is off the radar for 50 percent of his clients, while the remaining place a heavy emphasis on a state’s “Right to Work” status when choosing where to locate.

“Right to Work” will, in no way, stop workers from joining a union or prevent employers from entering into collective bargaining agreements. Rather it simply states that joining a union or paying dues cannot be a condition of getting or keeping a job.

Not having “Right to Work” has cost us in many ways.

First, Missouri is losing a congressional seat due to the most recent census data. That data shows businesses with jobs and the workers who take them are fleeing to states with worker protection laws. Non-“Right to Work” states lost a total of nine congressional seats and, due to population shifts, “Right to Work” states gained 11.

Second, we have underperformed compared with the six of our eight neighboring states that are “Right to Work” states. All those states have lower unemployment rates than Missouri. Tennessee, the only one with a comparable rate to ours, gained jobs in 2010 while Missouri lost jobs.

Plus, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows unemployment is lower in the 22 states that have adopted “Right to Work” laws. In the last decade, those states have added 1.5 million private sector jobs, while non-“Right to Work” states have lost 1.8 million jobs. With more than 160,000 jobs lost in our state since June 2008, we cannot afford to stand by and not take action.

The bottom line is that our unwillingness to change is costing Missouri jobs. I look forward to beginning the debate on this important legislation that will remove a barrier that’s stopping our state from competing with six of our eight neighboring states that have “Right to Work” laws and the many more in the country that are beating Missouri when it comes to gaining good jobs, especially in manufacturing.

Please feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues using the information listed below and on my website at www.senate.mo.gov/mayer.

Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, represents the 25th State Senatorial District in the Missouri State Senate and serves the state as the President Pro Tem of the State Senate.

By ROB MAYER
Last week, I joined another senator in introducing legislation that would better protect consumers from an energy consortium’s efforts to pass costs onto ratepayers in relation to efforts to obtain a site permit to build a second nuclear power plant in Callaway County.

The measure, Senate Bill 406, details a three-pronged approach to protect consumers including a hard cap of $40 million on the amount of money a utility could recover, a rebate plan for consumers in the case that the plant is either never built or fails to generate electricity, and a steady course of funding for the Office of Public Counsel in the Missouri Public Service Commission. The commission is the regulatory arm that oversees Missouri utilities. The Office of Public Counsel represents consumers in cases before the Public Service Commission.

This is one of several proposals before the legislature supportive of making sure that Missouri has abundant and clean energy supplies for our future. But this bill stands apart from the others because it offers the greatest consumer protections I’ve seen to date.

The bill is endorsed by two consumer and business advocacy groups. The first is the Fair Energy Rate Action Fund (FERAF) and includes the AARP, Missouri Association of Social Welfare, and Consumers Council of Missouri, to name a few. The second group is the Missouri Industrial Energy Consumers (MIEC) that is comprised of more than a dozen large Missouri industrial companies.

The bill, along with others of the same topic, will be heard before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Emerging Issues, Pensions and Urban Affairs this Wednesday, March 9, beginning at 4 p.m. in Senate Committee Room 2. The hearing is expected to last several hours to ensure all those who wish to testify in support or opposition of this proposal have the opportunity to do so.

I am also pleased to announce that several law enforcement agencies in the 25th Senatorial District received grants to help obtain essential law enforcement equipment necessary to increase public and officer safety. Securing the safety of our local, county and state officers and the general public they serve is always a top priority. I’m proud three counties and nine cities in my district will receive the funding needed to help provide adequate safety measures.

The Missouri Department of Public Safety distributes grants provided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance to purchase the much-needed equipment, including bulletproof vests, in-car cameras, and police radios. Cities and counties in the 25th District listed below received more than $85,000 in grant funding, which is limited to $10,000 for each award with a 10 percent local match requirement. They include Bernie, Dexter, Doniphan, Dunklin County, Essex, Greenville, Hayti, Kennett, Malden, New Madrid County, Pemiscot County, Puxico and Three Rivers College.

Local Law Enforcement Block Grants are used to provide funds to city police, county sheriffs, public university police departments, and state law enforcement agencies to underwrite projects that reduce crime and improve public safety. Moreover, this block grant program emphasizes local decision-making and encourages communities to craft their own responses to problems dealing with crime.

I know the law enforcement agencies in the 25th District will use funds provided by the grants to benefit our communities as a whole.

Please feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues using the information listed below and on my website at www.senate.mo.gov/mayer.

Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, represents the 25th State Senatorial District in the Missouri State Senate and serves the state as the President Pro Tem of the State Senate.

By Rob Mayer
 

By Rob Mayer
Throughout my legislative career, I have worked tirelessly to take steps to protect the lives of our unborn children. Last week, I presented a bill to a Senate committee that is an extension of that effort. Senate Bill 65 would change provisions relating to abortions in Missouri with respect to the viability of an unborn child. The measure amends the definition of “viability” to mean the state of fetal development when it is the physician’s judgment that there is a reasonable likelihood the life of the unborn child can still be sustained outside the mother with or without artificial life support.

As a lawmaker, I strive each and every day to provide a voice for those who do not yet have one to share. This bill would further protect unborn children that are determined to be 20 weeks or more in gestation by recognizing them as viable, preventing a physician from performing or inducing an abortion unless it is necessary to preserve the life of the mother.

At 20 weeks, a baby is approximately the length of a banana. He or she can hear sounds and even covers its ears with its hands if things are too noisy. His or her twisting, turning, punching and kicking movements can start to be felt by the mother. State law already requires mothers to be informed about their alternatives to abortion. This bill I’ve introduced goes one step further, strengthening the definition of the viability of an unborn child so he or she can have a chance to become who they were meant to be.

With the measure heard by the Senate General Laws Committee, a passing vote would recommend the bill move to the full Senate for debate.

Redrawing District Maps

Late last week we also received important data from the U.S. Census Bureau that is the first step in redrawing Missouri’s congressional districts. Unfortunately, Missouri’s population did not grow as rapidly in the past ten years as some other states, causing us to lose a seat in Congress. That means the State Legislature must redraw Missouri’s congressional district boundaries this year to represent eight seats, rather than our current nine.

This will be a difficult task, but as Senate Leader I have already named the senators comprising the Senate’s Select Committee on Redistricting to begin work and I have full faith in their ability to get the job done.

The committee will hold public hearings across the state and I will keep you apprised of their work as we redraw congressional districts to ensure fair and equal representation across our state.

Please feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues using the information listed below and on my website at www.senate.mo.gov/mayer.

Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, represents the 25th State Senatorial District in the Missouri State Senate and serves the state as the President Pro Tem of the State Senate.

Just six weeks into the 2011 Legislative Session we have passed a measure to help spur job creation in our state. The Missouri Senate passed Senate Bill 19 last week sending the measure to the House for similar consideration. This bill would first freeze and then phase out Missouri’s corporate franchise tax over a five year period.

By limiting and then ending this double taxation on employers we eliminate a disincentive that penalized companies for investing more in our state. Now, companies can invest in hiring new employees instead of growing government through higher taxes.

The corporate franchise tax is based on a percentage of a company’s assets. Corporations also pay income taxes on their earned income as well as sales and property taxes in Missouri. The bill caps corporate franchise tax liabilities at the amount of each corporation's tax liability for the 2010 tax year. New businesses would be capped at the amount of their corporation's franchise tax liability for its first full year of existence. Then, beginning January 1, 2012, the tax would be phased out over a five-year period.

Missouri is one of a few states that still charge businesses a tax just to expand or invest in our state. Kansas has been phasing out its franchise tax since 2007, and beginning in tax year 2011, it will be repealed altogether. The bottom line is that the corporate franchise tax is an outdated tax that is only still imposed in a handful of states. While other states raise taxes on business in an attempt to close their budget gaps, we can set Missouri apart and make it clear that this is a place where businesses can expand and create jobs without being penalized.

This bill is the first step to help put the more than 280,000 Missourians who have been out of work for the past year and a half back to work in good-paying jobs with benefits. By ending this double tax, we are making sure Missouri is competitive when it comes to bringing new investments and jobs to our state.

Putting Missourians back to work tops the Senate’s priority list for the 2011 Legislative Session. That is why I am glad we were able to pass this bill so quickly, while also advancing several other pro-job bills through the legislative process. Those other measures include protecting workers from being personally sued for their role in honest accidents at work, restoring balance and creating certainty in Missouri’s employment laws, and protecting a workers’ liberty by making sure joining a union or paying dues can no longer be a condition of getting or keeping a job.

In local news, you may have heard I have introduced a measure to protect Southeast Missouri’s water supply for local farmers and residents. Southeast Missouri is home to a rich aquifer. In order to preserve and protect this valuable resource, I have filed legislation that would give the state authority to block non-local, major water producers and users from tapping into our aquifer and pumping the water elsewhere if it is to the detriment of resident agriculture, business and industry. This new authority can better preserve our water supply, especially during times of drought. To ensure compliance, the bill would allow the Attorney General to seek an injunction on behalf of residents if a disruption of water use occurs. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources heard the bill last week. I anticipate the committee will recommend the measure move to the full Senate for debate.

Please feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues using the information listed below and on my website at www.senate.mo.gov/mayer.

Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, represents the 25th State Senatorial District in the Missouri State Senate and serves the state as the President Pro Tem of the State Senate.