A new session of the General Assembly is about to begin next Wednesday, and a business lobby group is raising concerns that very little will be accomplished in the coming session because this is an election year.
Missouri Chamber of Commerce President Dan Mehan says lawmakers tend to avoid big undertakings in election years because the focus is on the coming vote. He says business doesn’t stop because it’s an election year and neither should the work of the Legislature.
Mehan would like to see lawmakers address such issues as changes to workers’ compensation and the Second Injury Fund, the importance of science and technology-driven education, and incentives to make health care more accessible and more affordable.
While the Chamber fears inaction on several issues, it is concerned with what it sees as the wrong election year action on another issue: immigration reform. Mehan says Missouri lawmakers would be wrong to embrace a crackdown on illegal immigration – which would be popular with many voters – because immigration is a federal issue.
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