2008 Missouri Legislative Preview: Springfield: Economic development and education top the list

Sandy Howard, vice president of public affairs for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, pointed specifically to the Quality Jobs Act. The program allows employers to recover a portion of tax withholdings on wages from newly created jobs, and Howard said legislators should remember the state’s return on that investment.

“There has to be a higher-than-average wage paid for those new jobs, and the employer has to cover part of the health care costs,” Howard said. “So there is a net return to the state, and we would encourage the legislature to look at the whole picture when determining the appropriate level for those tax credit programs.”

The availability of incentives for startups is also an important topic, said Dan Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

“We’ve seen evidence from some studies that show we’re far behind what our eight border states spend per capita in the way of creating incentives for investment in startups and funding that entrepreneurial activity,” Mehan said.

A study by the University of Missouri-Kansas City showed that the states surrounding Missouri spent an average of $2.79 per person on capital formation programs in 2006, while Missouri spent just 10 cents per person.

Education

Education continues to top priority lists for business groups. Both the state and city chambers of commerce advocate increased core funding for schools, particularly higher education.

Howard said the Springfield chamber also is pushing for $1 million in startup money for the proposed cooperative engineering program between Missouri State University and the Missouri University of Science and Technology, formerly University of Missouri-Rolla.

The state chamber additionally wants approval of an alternative teacher certification program, allowing business professionals to more easily transition into the classroom.

“That will be a very important addition, especially when we’re so low on mathematics and science teachers,” Mehan said.

He added that his group also advocates realigning high school curricula to match needs of businesses and college training programs.

Transportation

Howard said that transportation infrastructure funding also will be a hot topic in 2008, largely due to the end of nearly $200 million a year in highway funding via Amendment 3, which phases out in 2009.

“The average Missourian needs to realize what’s on the funding horizon,” Howard said. “What they see now is roads that are greatly improved from what they were a few years ago, and we need that to continue.”

The Missouri Department of Transportation lists better quality roads as one of its top accomplishments in 2007. The department’s Better Roads, Brighter Future program began in January 2007 and is expected to bring 85 percent of the state’s major highway system up to good condition by 2012.

The department has several items on its agenda for 2008, including stiffer criminal penalties to protect workers in highway construction zones and increased funding for multimodal transportation services.

But the drop in funding once Amendment 3 runs out – an event MoDOT spokesman Jeff Briggs refers to as “falling off a cliff” – has the department concerned. He noted that the department’s budget, which is $1.2 billion in 2008, is expected to drop to $569 million in 2010, if no additional funding sources are found.

“It would put us in maintenance-only mode,” he said.

Briggs added that several state legislators, including the chairs of both the House and Senate transportation committees, have proposed additional funding sources to offset the loss of Amendment 3 money.

Health care

One other area where change is wanted is health care and insurance.

Both the Springfield and Missouri chambers favor the first phases of Gov. Blunt’s proposed Insure Missouri program, which would reduce insurance expenses for families at or below the poverty level or who are ineligible for Medicare.

“The cost of health care continues to be one of the largest costs that employers face, and it’s rising rapidly,” Howard said. “Implementing a program that would assist the employer community and health care and insurance providers in furthering the ability for Missourians to be insured directly affects the economy in a positive way – and helps contain health care costs.”

The Springfield chamber also is pushing for the state to fund the Preparing to Care Initiative proposed by the state’s two- and four-year public colleges and universities. The schools are asking for $38 million to increase health program graduate numbers by 20 percent.

“It’s all about work force development … to address the need that exists,” Howard said, noting that St. John’s and Cox hospitals are the two largest employers in the Springfield area. “When you look at the health care program, those needs are certainly real.”