Representative Neely's Capitol Report
Greetings Friends of the 8th Legislative District!
House Speaker Outlines Priorities for Upcoming Session
With the legislative session just a month away, and the legislature now set to work with a governor who has shared policy priorities, House Speaker Todd Richardson recently took the time to outline part of his legislative agenda for 2017. Richardson has already met several times with Governor-Elect Greitens to talk about the common ground that can be found between the executive and legislative branches.
As the Speaker said, “I think we’re going to find a tremendous amount of common ground and it’s built around a common vision for what Missouri looks like. That’s a Missouri that respects and protects individual freedom. That’s a Missouri that has a stronger, more vibrant, dynamic economy than we have today. It’s a Missouri that has a strong education system for every Missourian no matter where they were born or where they live.”
Speaker Richardson said his chamber’s top priorities will be issues that his party believes will improve Missouri’s economy. “That means a universe of labor reform, tort reform, and education reform,” said Richardson, “I think if we’ll focus on those issues as well as removing some of the government barriers to innovation and economic development, we’ll have the workings of a pretty good agenda to start with
Legislature Prepares for Difficult Budget Situation
As the members of the General Assembly look ahead to the 2017 session, they do so with the knowledge that they will face a difficult budget situation. The current fiscal year has seen the governor withhold more than $150 million from the state operating budget. That number will likely grow as lackluster revenue numbers may force the incoming governor to make additional withholds. According to the current House Budget Chairman, the new governor may be faced with the need to withhold as much as an additional $200 million from the $27.2 billion state budget.
The good news is that the state has seen revenue growth of approximately 4.5 percent since July. The bad news is that the state saw revenue numbers drop dramatically in the final months of the previous fiscal year, which put the state in a significant budget hole. Now the state needs growth in excess of 6 percent in order to prevent the need for more withholds, and to restore the cuts that have already been made. Because growth at such a high level is unlikely, the Budget Chairman is set to work with the incoming governor to find areas in the budget where withholds can be made without negatively impacting important services and programs.
Aside from concerns about the current budget, the Budget Chairman also noted the state faces a significant hurdle when working on the budget for the next fiscal year. As he pointed out, the cost of Medicaid and its related programs has grown, and continues to grow. Including the growth in Medicaid, state departments anticipate needing an additional $550 million in the operating budget for the next fiscal year. In order to keep up, state revenues would need to grow by six percent. In the event revenues do not grow at that level, the Budget Chairman says the state will have to take a serious look at ways to bring the cost of Medicaid and other programs under control.
Task Force on Human Trafficking Prepares Recommendations for 2017 Legislative Session
The Task Force on Human Trafficking recently held its final hearing and is now putting together its recommendations for the 2017 legislative session. The group was created in 2015 with the goal of making recommendations to the legislature on how to fight trafficking in Missouri. A report with the group’s recommendations is due by the end of the year.
The General Assembly has already passed legislation to criminalize the advertising of a victim for sex or pornography. Legislators also made it law to allow a victim keep his or her address confidential, making it harder for traffickers to find them.
With the goal of strengthening the anti-trafficking laws already on the books, the task force will likely recommend the creation of a position in the state’s government that oversees anti-trafficking efforts. This would require the legislature to propose where the money for such a person’s salary would come from in the state budget. Discussion also continues regarding where in state government the position would be housed, or whether it should be a non-profit position outside of the government.
Other recommendations could include using state money to help support groups that offer treatment and assistance to victims to help them transition out of trafficking, and requiring that employers post the national trafficking hotline in break rooms. The chairman of the task force expects to include six to ten recommendations in the report.
Contact Information:
As always, please do not hesitate to call or write me anytime with your questions or thoughts on this or any other issue. My Capitol office is 573.751.0246 and my email is jim.neely@house.mo.gov . Thank you for the honor to serve as your Representative in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Working on your behalf,
Representative Jim Neely
Proudly Serving the 8th House District, Clinton, Caldwell, Clay and Ray Counties, Missouri House of Representatives
