MO chamber priorities signed into law

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon yesterday signed a number of bills into law, including key legislation the Missouri Chamber of Commerce & Industry had identified as priorities.

In a news release, the Missouri chamber pointed to House Bill 1540, legislation that returns the workers' compensation law to the level of protection it provided until 2005, when the law was reformed.

“Our workers’ compensation system was established decades ago, as a compromise between employees and employers. The system was intended to provide quick and fair compensation for employees injured through work and keep these issues from becoming embroiled in court,” said Daniel Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri chamber, in the release. “These changes uphold the intent of the law, by providing clarity of the law and certainty for employers, and most important, provides protection for employees as the law was intended.”

In May, the Missouri Senate gave unanimous approval to HB 1540, which protects co-employees from personal lawsuits for their roles in workplace accidents.

“No employee should be forced to worry about losing their home to a lawsuit based on an unintentional workplace accident or act of God or nature,” Mehan added. “We applaud lawmakers and the governor for returning the law to provide the protections it was designed to provide.”

Other bills signed by Nixon and noted by the chamber were:

• HB 1504, which requires municipalities to adhere to state standards on the statute of limitations for audits, and when assessing penalties and interest on back taxes;
• HB 1231, a bill that requires the commissioner of the state Office of Administration or other state purchasing agents to give preference to forest products or bricks produced in Missouri when bids are comparable;
• HB 1251, which standardizes the state's hazardous waste regulations with federal regulations; and
• HB 1647, an omnibus environmental bill that changes the calculation of transport fees for radioactive waste haulers, which the chamber said is important to trucking industry members.