State chamber recognizes SWMO legislators for business work

Nearly all of southwest Missouri's state legislators are being recognized for supporting business growth during the 2020 legislative session.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry this morning released its 2020 Business Champions list. The designation honors legislators who worked to grow the state's economy and make Missouri more competitive for businesses, according to a news release.

Southwest Missouri Sens. Sandy Crawford, Mike Cunningham, Lincoln Hough, David Sater and Bill White made the list. Sen. Eric Burlison, who represents Christian County and part of Greene County, was not among the honorees. All of southwest Missouri's senators are Republicans, according to Springfield Business Journal list research.

Representatives from southwest Missouri on the list, in alphabetical order, are:
• Sonya Anderson;
• John Black;
• Scott Cupps;
• Karla Eslinger;
• Craig Fishel;
• Elijah Haahr;
• Steve Helms;
• Brad Hudson;
• Jeffery Justus;
• Jeff Knight;
• Lynn Morris;
• Mike Stephens;
• Jered Taylor; and
• Curtis Trent.

Rep. Jeffrey Messenger, a Republican representing Greene County, and Rep. Crystal Quade, southwest Missouri's lone Democrat in the House who represents Greene County, did not make the list.

The Missouri chamber cited legislators' work this session in passing legal reforms and a rule change impacting skilled professionals, as well as progress on expanding broadband internet access, according to the release.

“Despite facing challenging circumstances, the Missouri General Assembly was successful in passing several important pro-business policies during the 2020 legislative session," chamber President and CEO Dan Mehan said in the release. "We applaud our Business Champions for their leadership and we look forward to continuing to work alongside them to rebuild, reimagine and revitalize Missouri’s economy for our future.”