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Haahr tax bill assigned to Missouri Senate Ways and Means Committee

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Legislation that would reduce Missouri’s personal and corporate income taxes has been referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee in Jefferson City.

Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr testifies before the House Ways and Means Committee on March 5, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The 442-page tax reform bill is sponsored by House Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, who says his bill would transform Missouri’s tax system to the most competitive in the nation.

“We’re very hopeful and optimistic, we’ve got a month left of session, we’re going to send it over to the Senate and see what kind of discussions we can have with them,” Haahr told the Capitol Press Corps last Thursday.

The bill was referred this week to the Ways and Means Committee, which is chaired by State Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau.

Haahr’s bill would reduce Missouri’s highest personal income tax rate from 5.9 to five percent, and also includes funding for the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges.

Haahr testified in March that his plan to index vehicle user fees to the cost of inflation would generate about $174 million annually for the state’s road fund.

A reporter asked Haahr last Thursday about State Sen. Bill Eigel’s, R-Weldon Spring, tax bill, which is now in the Senate Fiscal Oversight Committee.

“That (Eigel) bill is different from ours in a variety of different respects. The way they fund roads, the size and scope of the reductions in income and business tax and the way they pay for it,” Haahr says.

Senator Eigel’s bill needs one more Senate vote, before it would head to the Missouri House.

As for Haahr, he says Missouri’s current vehicle license and registration fees haven’t changed in more than 30 years.

Haahr’s bill also creates an “emergency bridge repair and replacement fund”, which would include money appropriated from general revenue for accelerated bridge replacements or immediate repairs to bridges that need it.

The House approved an amendment from State Rep. Bart Korman, R-High Hill, creating that emergency fund.

The Haahr bill was approved by the Missouri House on a 91-61 vote.

Veteran Missouri lawmaker looks ahead to county service (AUDIO)

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The Missouri House Transportation Committee Chairman will be the next presiding commissioner in southwest Missouri’s Newton County.

State Rep. Bill Reiboldt (R-Neosho) speaks on the Missouri House floor in March 2017 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications}

State Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho, who’s unopposed in November, describes Newton County as rural.

“We do have a lot of farms, a lot of county roads, we are bumping, we are a class two county, Newton County and getting close to that class one classification in Missouri,” Reiboldt says.

Newton County has about 58,000 residents.

Reiboldt is scheduled to become the next Newton County Presiding Commissioner in January.

He notes the county has Crowder College and a National Guard facility at the former Camp Crowder site.

Term limits prohibit Reiboldt from running again for the House. He’s in his eighth and final year in Jefferson City.

Reiboldt is most proud of his work on agricultural-related issues in the House. He served as the House Ag Policy Committee’s vice chairman for his first two years, then served as chairman for four years.

“And we saw some really good things come through the House and signed into law,” says Reiboldt. “My dairy bill, my farming rights statewide constitutional amendment. I’m very proud of that.”

Meantime, House Transportation Committee Chairman Reiboldt’s primary seat belt legislation has not received a hearing yet in 2018.

He says the bill could save a minimum of about 60 lives annually in Missouri.

“Safety is a huge issue for our state. I want everybody that uses the roadways, all your families to get home safely. I want to keep the drunks and the texters off our roadways,” Reiboldt says.

Missouri’s transportation system task force has recommended a primary seat belt law, which would allow police officers to enforce the law as a stand-alone offense.

Reiboldt says 64 percent of Missourians killed on the road in 2017 were not wearing seat belts.

 

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho, which was recorded on April 5, 2018 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Springfield man charged with second degree murder after deadly pursuit

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Prosecutors in southwest Missouri’s Greene County have filed murder charges against a man who was allegedly involved in a deadly pursuit this week.

Missourinet Springfield affiliate KSGF Radio reports 54-year-old Tommy Morris is charged with second degree murder for the death of Dana Sowards of Nixa.

Prosecutors say her vehicle was struck by Morris during Tuesday’s pursuit, after Morris went through a red light.

Morris is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Greene County Circuit Court.

A judge has ordered him held without bond.

Copyright © 2018 · Missourinet

St. Louis Lambert International Airport checkpoint expansion highlights growth (AUDIO)

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St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) officials have announced that they’ve finished a checkpoint expansion project that creates a seventh security screening lane that will be used during peak hours in terminal two.

This is terminal two at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (photo courtesy of St. Louis Lambert International Airport)

Lambert spokesman Jeff Lea says the airport has been coordinating the project with the TSA.

“We’ve gone from six to seven (lanes),” Lea says. “This was crucial because we’ve seen just an expansion of flights out of terminal two from Southwest and thus passenger growth.”

Lea notes the TSA conducted more than 2.8 million passenger screenings in 2017 in terminal two, a 5.5 percent increase. He says the new checkpoint expansion in that terminal will help accommodate that growth.

“And we’ve partnered with the TSA to really achieve an opportunity to reduce the waiting times and get a faster throughpoint for our passengers so they can make it to the secure side and get to their gates and onto their flights on time,” says Lea.

Terminal two mainly houses gates for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines. Lea says Southwest added new service from St. Louis to San Jose and Sacramento earlier this month.

Meantime, you’ll soon be able to fly nonstop from St. Louis to Iceland. Lea tells Missourinet the additional lane will also accommodate the new international service on WOW air between St. Louis and Iceland.

“The service begins four days a week but it begins May 17th and in June it will expand to five days a week, adding a Sunday flight,” Lea says.

Lea says he’s hearing “nothing but positive news” about ticket sales.

He says Lambert officials are currently working with WOW air to get terminal two set up for them to operate.

Lea says WOW air will take over counter space adjacent to the Southwest counters, and will operate from gate E-29.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and St. Louis Lambert International Airport spokesman Jeff Lea, which was recorded on April 18, 2018:

Munzlinger, Houghton hopeful Missouri working animal bill will pass (AUDIO)

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Compromise legislation that would prohibit Missouri cities and towns from banning the use of a working animal was heard Tuesday afternoon by a House committee in Jefferson City.

State Sen. Brian Munzlinger (R-Williamstown)

Missouri Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee Chairman Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, testifies efforts to ban carriage rides in St. Louis prompted this bill.

Munzlinger emphasizes he’s worked with all parties on the bill’s language.

“This bill does not take away local control and the ability of the cities to make rules about working animals on public streets, especially when it comes to the health and welfare of the animals or the citizens,” Munzlinger testifies.

Munzlinger’s bill defines “working animal” as the use of any animal for the purpose of performing a specific duty in entertainment, transportation or educational exhibits.

Munzlinger notes the bill creates a definition that lawmakers have never had before. Livestock animals are not included in the definition.

During his testimony, Munzlinger emphasized multiple times that his legislation to prohibit cities and towns from banning the use of working animals still protects local control.

“So if the city of St. Louis feels that they need to say there should not be any horse-drawn carriages out in rush-hour traffic, that’s okay, as long as the rules and regulations are not intended to ban the whole industry,” says Munzlinger.

Munzlinger testified before the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee, which is chaired by veteran State Rep. Jay Houghton, R-Martinsburg.

Chairman Houghton hopes the compromise legislation will be approved by the end of session, which is May 18.

Houghton’s committee heard about 45 minutes of testimony Tuesday, including Missouri Farm Bureau’s testimony expressing concern with some of the bill’s language.

“The concerns that I’ve heard deals with a city or municipality imposing fees upon these folks that own working animals that could possibly keep them from doing business in a town,” Houghton says.

Munzlinger responded to Farm Bureau’s language concerns during the hearing, saying that the bill has been “out there” for four months.

Houghton tells Missourinet his policy is for the committee to hear a bill one week and vote on it the following week, indicating the committee will likely vote next week.

The Senate has already passed the bill, and Munzlinger and Houghton are both hopeful the House can pass the same version by the end of session.

Houghton admits time is a factor, with the session’s end one month away.

This is the eighth version of Munzlinger’s bill.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and House Ag Policy Committee Chairman Jay Houghton, R-Martinsburg, which was recorded on April 17, 2018 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

MoDOT worker who had close call: “I’m begging people to buckle up, put your phones down”

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Another day at the office for a Missouri Department of Transportation worker was almost his last. Justin Sundell, a seven-year MoDOT maintenance worker from southeast Missouri’s Salem, recalls flagging drivers to stop in a work zone when he noticed a car that was not slowing down.

Photos courtesy of MoDOT

Sundell attempted to slow him down by waving his stop paddle. Then came the screeching of tires and brakes.

“If he would have struck the vehicle I had stopped, it would have shoved the vehicle into me,” Sundell says during a press conference this week in Jefferson City to recognize National Work Zone Awareness Week.

Once Sundell let the stopped cars drive away, the driver who nearly hit him pulled up alongside Sundell and screamed “Why are you out here flagging with no signs?”

Sundell says the driver had his phone in his hand the entire time and missed three signs alerting motorists to prepare to stop.

“I’m begging people, when you’re driving a motor vehicle, please buckle up and put your phone down. We all want to go home safe each and every single night,” he says.

State law requires motorists to move over when they see flashing lights used by first responders, state workers and tow truck drivers. Is Missouri’s “Move Over Law” working?

From 2012 to 2017, 59 people were killed in work zone crashes on state and local highways in Missouri. Since 2000, MoDOT has lost 19 workers in the line of duty. According to Missouri State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Sandy Karsten, 17 state troopers were struck roadside in Missouri in 2017.

According to MoDOT Director Patrick McKenna, a work zone crash occurs every 5.4 minutes in the United States. He says work zone collisions are climbing nationwide and calls the issue a national epidemic. He points to the rise of cell phones as one of the most significant changes in the last decade.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is gearing up for its busy road construction season by increasing its safety measures. Workers will be using in more work zones rumble strips on roads and red and blue lights on contractor vehicles, especially heavily-traveled routes and winding paths.

The cost of flashing lights is about $550 per vehicle and $9,500 for a set of six rumble strips. Len Toenjes, president of Missouri Associated General Contractors, says he wishes the added expenses weren’t necessary.

“This doesn’t cost MoDOT anything. It costs the people who are paying MoDOT everything. It costs the people driving, who are paying their fuel taxes, who are paying their fees, those are dollars that go into protective materials rather than concrete, asphalt, roadways, bridges, all the things that we really need to be spending that money on. There again, the more people pay attention, the more we can dedicate resources to long-term things rather than spending it on protecting people,” Toenjes says.

During heavy road construction season, expect several work zones on Interstates 70, 44, 64, 55, 270, and U.S. Route 65.

Copyright © 2018 ·

Blunt says 51 percent of rural Missourians lack access to broadband

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Senator Roy Blunt (R) emphasized agriculture, broadband and jobs during his Wednesday address to the Missouri House in Jefferson City.

Senator Roy Blunt addresses the Missouri House on April 4, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri’s junior senator says world food demand will double between now and 2050.

“Nobody is better at this than we are as a country, and frankly nobody in the country is better positioned than we are to take advantage of that unbelievable opening,” Blunt says.

Senator Blunt has described the Mississippi River valley as the biggest piece of contiguous agricultural ground in the world, with the “best farmers and ranchers in the world.”

Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, says the Show-Me State currently ranks 40th in the nation in access to broadband service.

Blunt tells the Missouri House that broadband was a key topic of discussion at an ag forum he participated in last week in Springfield, with Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Chris Chinn and Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst.

“We had 45 minutes of questions and answers, not a single question was about the next (federal) farm bill,” says Blunt. “Every single question was about rural broadband, transportation and regulation.”

Blunt says 51 percent of rural Missourians don’t have access to broadband.

Bagpipe players from the Boone County Fire Protection District enter the Missouri House chamber on April 4, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

“We need to do something about that. Broadband is going to be just as important over the next 50 years as the telephone was over the last 50 years,” Blunt says.

The Missouri House has voted 149-1 to approve legislation from State Rep. Curtis Trent, R-Springfield, that would enable the state’s rural electric cooperatives to make unused capacity available for residential and commercial purposes.

Trent’s bill declares that the expansion of broadband service is in the best interests of Missourians.

Trent says rural broadband is critical for education and health care.

The Missouri Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee has approved the bill, which is now waiting for debate on the Senate floor.

This is the eighth straight year that Senator Blunt has addressed the House. He was elected to the Senate in 2010, and was re-elected in 2016.

Meantime, Missouri House members on both sides of the aisle paused for a moment of silence Wednesday, which was the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Blunt describes Dr. King as “one of the most influential voices of the 20th century.” Blunt tells the House it’s a good time to think about the importance and value of life.

“And the difference that one committed life can make, and I think with the Speaker’s indulgence I’m going to suggest we just take a few moments here of silence and think about all those issues particularly about Dr. King,” says Blunt.

Blunt says Dr. King’s contributions to the civil rights movement inspired generations of Americans to carry on his legacy.

Missouri House could debate Haahr tax reform package this week

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Legislation that would reduce Missouri’s highest personal income tax rate from 5.9 to five percent could be debated by the House in Jefferson City this week.

Missouri House Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr presides over the chamber on March 27, 2018 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, spoke to the Capitol Press Corps about Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr’s tax reform bill, right before the Easter break.

“Our intent all along has been to work with our colleagues on the other end of the building (the Missouri Senate), as well as our colleagues here in the House to come up with a broad-based tax reform bill that we could get all the way through the process,” Richardson says.

Haahr’s 429-page legislation also reduces Missouri’s corporate income tax from 6.25 to five percent.

Haahr, R-Springfield, notes his bill is also aimed at providing funding for Missouri’s deteriorating roads and bridges.

It would index vehicle user fees to the cost of inflation.

Haahr testified before the Missouri House Ways and Means Committee in March, saying that change would generate about $174 million annually for the state’s road fund.

“Ours would provide about $2 billion over the next ten years for roads plus an additional $700 million that would go to counties,” Haahr told Capitol reporters before the Easter break. “So that’s kind of the number we’ve been operating off.”

Haahr says the state’s current vehicle license and registration fees haven’t changed in more than 30 years.

Missouri House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho, has a competing version, which would place a ten-cent gasoline tax increase before voters in November.

Meantime, a top Missouri House Democrat says neighboring Kansas “fell apart” because of massive tax cuts.

House Assistant Minority Leader Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, has concerns with GOP tax cut plans in both the Missouri House and Senate.

“We’ve already talked about the fact that our public education is in trouble, our roads and bridges are in trouble, our seniors are in trouble, what more trouble do we need to put Missourians in just to win elections,” Mitten says.

Haahr says his bill would transform Missouri’s tax system to the most competitive in the nation.

This is a short week in the Missouri House, because of the Easter break. Lawmakers were off on Monday and didn’t return to Jefferson City until Tuesday afternoon.

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R) is scheduled to address the House on Wednesday morning.

Roundup of Sunday weather related traffic problems across Missouri

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State Troopers in the Kansas City area responded to more than 300 calls yesterday including 144 crashes with nine injuries. The agency was urging people to drive at appropriate speeds, given the treacherous conditions, and was predicting more hazardous conditions overnight into this morning.

The Missouri Highway Patrol said they had 76 crashes reported in the St. Louis area last evening between 3-and-9 pm.  Troopers reported a total of 107 calls for service with 31 stranded drivers and four injuries in addition to the crashes.

A wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain led to at least 20 crashes on roads in the Springfield area Sunday night.  Police agencies were advising residents to check for roads conditions before leaving for work and school Monday morning.

A rare April snowfall yesterday caused dozens of accidents on mid-Missouri roads. Record low temperatures have been experienced in the city of Columbia this morning.

 

 

Schroer: “Waylon Jennings’ music lives in the hearts of many Missourians” (AUDIO)

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Legislation that would designate part of Highway P in eastern Missouri’s St. Charles County as the “Waylon Jennings Memorial Highway” has been heard by the Missouri House Transportation Committee in Jefferson City.

State Rep. Nick Schroer speaks to the Capitol Press Corps in December 2017 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Nick Schroer, R-O’Fallon, says constituents asked him to file it.

“Waylon Jennings has to be one of my favorite country music stars,” Schroer says. “I think he’s kind of set the tone for what country music is, what it should be about.”

Schroer tells Missourinet this stretch of Highway P goes from O’Fallon to Lincoln County, and reminds him of a popular television show called the “Dukes of Hazzard.”

Waylon Jennings, the show’s narrator, wrote and sang the theme song, which was called “Good ‘Ol Boys.”

Schroer has a tattoo of Jennings, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001.

The biggest hit of Jennings’ career was “Good ‘Ol Boys”, which at one time was the number one song on the Billboard country singles chart.

“This stretch of Highway P goes from O’Fallon into St. Paul. It eventually ends up going into Troy (Missouri). But it’s a very wooded area on both sides. There’s some farms out there,” says Schroer.

The Missouri House Transportation Committee is expected to vote on the bill in April.

While Jennings never lived in Missouri, Schroer tells Missourinet Jennings performed on tour in the Show-Me State many times.

Jennings died in 2002, after reportedly battling diabetes.

Under the bill, the highway signs would be paid for by private donations.

Schroer hopes a “Waylon Jennings Memorial Highway” would be a tourist attraction for that area. He envisions I-70 travelers stopping off to visit the highway and eating at the local restaurants there.

Time could be the biggest challenge to Schroer’s bill. The 2018 session ends May 18.

Schroer is still optimistic.

He notes there are country music fans in the Missouri Senate, and says his measure could be attached to a Senate bill.

 

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Nick Schroer, which was recorded on March 22, 2018: