Missouri is getting closer to a law that lets victims of child pornography sue pedophiles who get their pictures from the internet. The proposal is a state version of the national “Masha’s Law, ” named for Masha Allen who will turn 18 this year. Her story of being adopted from a Russian orphanage by an American businessman when she was five and the five years of sexual abuse at his hands led to passage of the federal Masha’s Law in 2006. [Read more...]
Legislature rejects farmland tax increase, decrease
February 18, 2010 By
A recommendation by the State Tax Commission that taxes increase on Missouri’s most productive farmland and decrease on its least productive ground has been rejected by the state legislature.
The Tax Commission recommended a 30% tax hike for the best farmland in the state, mainly cropland in the fertile areas of northern and southeastern Missouri. Though the commission also recommended a 24% tax break for the least productive ground, mostly put into pasture, it was the increase that grabbed the attention of lawmakers and sparked a firestorm at the Capitol.
The House picked up and passed the Senate resolution, SCR 35&32, which overturned the commission recommendation. The House voted 143-to-11 to reject the Tax Commission recommendation. The Senate approved the resolution on a 30-to-3 vote earlier. The resolution doesn’t have to go to the governor. Farmland tax rates will remain as is.
The State Tax Commission based its recommendations on studies completed by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute. FAPRI, operated by the University of Missouri and Iowa State University, is well respected among legislators. Its recommendations carry much weight at the Capitol in Jefferson City.
This time, though, lawmakers rejected the notion that the productivity value of cropland in Missouri had surged and justified a 30% increase in its tax rate. Farmland in Missouri is taxed on its productive value.
House sponsor, Rep. Brian Munzlinger (R-Williamstown), was pleased with the overwhelming vote on the measure, saying that it was important to stop “this outrageous tax increase”. Munzlinger said he didn’t believe that recent gains in farm productivity came from an increase the productivity of the ground, but on the inputs farmers were using. Sen. Bill Stouffer (R-Napton) sponsored the Senate resolution.
The legislature had to act quickly. It had 60 days from the first day of this legislative session to act or the commission’s recommendations went into effect.
House passes autism measure, sends it to Senate
February 18, 2010 By
Health insurers regulated by the state would have to cover treatment for autism under a bill that has passed the House and moved to the Senate.
Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst (R-Manchester) said during his opening remarks on the House floor that his bill would mandate the coverage of a wide range of disorders, called the autism spectrum disorder. HCS HB 1311&1341 passed the House Thursday on a 135-to-18 vote. [Read more...]
Factory jobs incentive passes House, moves to Senate
February 18, 2010 By
An incentive program to lure more manufacturing jobs to Missouri and to help the state keep the jobs it has passed the House Thursday on a 134-to-17 vote. The bill now moves to the Senate.
Rep. Jerry Nolte (R-Gladstone) says Missouri must compete with other states which are trying to lure manufacturing jobs. A qualifying factory would be allowed to retain half of its withholding taxes from retained jobs for 10 years. The manufacturing facility could also qualify for other state incentives, such as the Quality Jobs Program, Missouri’s premiere business incentive program. The jobs created would have to be high-paying with benefits.
Though the bill, HCS HB 1675, is broadly written, it does have one large factory in mind: the Ford Claycomo plant in Kansas City. Ford will soon end production of the Ford Escape at the plant. Missouri hopes to attract the product line that will replace it and keep 4,000 jobs at the plant. Several other states have offered Ford tens of millions of dollars to shift production.
Ford makes the popular F-150 line of pick-ups at Claycomo and plans to maintain that production at the plant.
AUDIO: Rep. Jerry Nolte brings HCS HB 1675 to House floor for debate (1 min)
Demographer slams U.S. Census in Jefferson City
February 18, 2010 By
A nationally known opinion research consultant says Missouri and other states should be fighting the Congressional reapportionment guided by the U-S Census. Elliott Stonecipher spoke in Jefferson City for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce Day at the Capitol. He says there are two major problems with the census. One is cost. Two is the population shift caused by illegal immigrants.
Stonecipher says Louisana, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, North and South Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania would receive an additional congressional seat if all non citizens — though counted — were not included in the calcuations of Congressional reapportionment. Those seats instead will go to states with high non citizen populations — California, Texas, Illinois and New York. As for Missouri… he says we’ll keep our seats by a slim margin.
