Representative Neely's Capitol Report
Greetings Friends of the 8th!
House Legislative Priorities Take Shape
Labor, tort, education, ethics, and regulatory reforms will be part of the legislative agenda for the Missouri House of Representatives during the 2017 legislative session that begins in January.
House Speaker Todd Richardson recently gave greater detail to the legislative priorities his caucus will pursue in the coming year. Among these will be labor reform efforts that will include efforts to pass legislation supporters call “right-to-work,” and “paycheck protection,” as well as reforms to project labor agreements. Tort reforms will include resumption of efforts to pass legislation changing how expert witnesses are evaluated, and Missouri’s collateral source rule.
In education reform, the Speaker said expansion of charter schools will be considered, and the caucus will look for ways to improve student achievement “across the board.” Richardson announced the House is creating a task force of members to look at these issues specifically.
The Speaker also wants to pick up where the legislature left off last year with ethics reform. With that, his first goal in the House will be to again pass a bill banning gifts from lobbyists to legislators. “I was proud that we were able to take some substantive, meaningful steps forward on ethics reform last year, but I don’t think anybody thinks that job is complete,” said Speaker Richardson. “We want the environment in Jefferson City to be better than it is today and that’s going to be an ongoing process. This year that’s going to start with work on the gift ban.”
The House will also study the way Missouri regulates businesses. The Speaker hopes to work to cut red tape and remove some of the regulatory barriers for business. He noted that the legislature will continue the work it began last year on a statewide regulatory framework for ride sharing companies like Uber and Lyft.
The House will also push legislation being called “The Sunshine Act,” which would require an analysis of proposed regulations before they are enacted. The Speaker said the House will also take a more comprehensive look at what licensing requirements exist in Missouri, to see if they present “unnecessary barriers” to employment.
The pre-filing of bills for the 2017 legislative session began December 1. The legislative session begins January 4.
Missouri House to Investigate Reports of Harassment within Department of Corrections
The state House of Representatives will investigate reports of harassment within the state Department of Corrections, which has reportedly victimized numerous employees and cost the state millions in legal settlements.
A recent article on Pitch.com outlined multiple cases in which, it said, court documents showed some Corrections employees were the victims of harassment, retaliation, and threats based on sex, age, religion, or physical ability.
In several of those cases, the employees or former employees making the allegations agreed to a settlement with the state. Between 2012 and 2016 those settlements totaled more than $7.5-million.
“The things that have been reported coming out of the Department of Corrections are unacceptable. They’re unacceptable for our state. They out to be unacceptable in any workplace environment,” said House Speaker Todd Richardson. He added, “They’re doubly concerning here in Missouri because it’s leading to a huge budget impact. The cost to the state to have to settle these claims has been significant.”
The Speaker said the House will take up a “very thorough review” of what’s been happening at the Department. He said, “That will involve our budget committees but it’s also going to involve our policy committees, so we can get to the bottom of what’s going on and most importantly – how do we make the environment better than it is today,” said Richardson.
Details on how the House investigation will proceed will be released in coming weeks.
Holiday Season Brings Good News for Missouri Workers
As Missourians prepare to enjoy the holidays, they do so with some welcome good news about the state’s employment picture. The most recent numbers reported by the Missouri Department of Economic Development show healthy job growth and a continued decline in unemployment.
The number of jobs in Missouri grew by 1,900 during the month of November. This brings the total number of jobs gained in the state during the last year to 57,000. The figure represents job growth of more than 2 percent, and brings the total number of jobs in Missouri to more than 2.8 million, which is a record high.
At the same time, unemployment dropped to 4.7 percent in November, which is down from 5.1 percent unemployment in October.
Contact Information:
As always, please do not hesitate to call or write me anytime with your questions or thoughts on this or any other issue. My Capitol office is 573.751.0246 and my email is jim.neely@house.mo.gov . Thank you for the honor to serve as your Representative in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Working on your behalf,
Representative Jim Neely
Proudly Serving the 8th House District
Clinton, Caldwell, Clay and Ray Counties
Missouri House of Representatives
573.751.0246
