Missouri’s budget dominated presentations this morning during an eggs and issues forum at Crowder College.
The event, held at the Wright Center inside the Farber Building on the Crowder College campus was hosted by the Neosho Area Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Rick Rogers, chamber president and Daily News publisher.
State Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, said both Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s and the Missouri House of Representatives’ budgets did not comply with a measure he proposed last year that Nixon signed into law.
That measure was Senate Bill 313, which was designed to track funds received from the federal stimulus plan.
“Now the budget goes to the Senate and I don’t know if we’re going to comply with the law or not,” Nodler said. “Somebody ought to comply with the law. Unless you comply, there’s no way to identify federal revenues in the state budget.
“Everybody keeps talking about the cliff we’re going to go over in the budget process. You can’t know the magnitude of the cliff unless the federal revenue is identified.”
But Rep. Ron Richard, R-Joplin, who is the current House speaker, defended that body’s budget document during his remarks, saying the House trimmed $225 million from a state budget they completed Thursday.
“Yesterday, we made some pretty tough votes,” Richard said. “My people are going to make certain we do what we think is in the best interests of Missouri.”
Nodler also spoke on a budgetary resolution he sponsored this year that encourages the U.S. Congress to exercise regulatory forbearance on the banking industry.
As Nodler explained the resolution, it asked Congress when applying regulations to banks, to differentiate between solvent and insolvent institutions, as well as determine worthy credit risks and bad ones.
Nodler said under current banking regulations, borrowers in “red line zones,” geographical areas where housing values have fallen, are being denied credit extensions, even if they have made their house payments on time each month.
“I don’t see how the country’s economy can recover with such a chokehold,” he said. “This is a life or death issue to the future of the national economy.”
In his other remarks, Richard said he agreed with Gov. Nixon about the importance of job creation in the state. He said one way to create more Missouri jobs was through tax credits.
“That’s where, in the tax structure, there is the best chance to attract business people to hire and expand,” he said.
Richard also mentioned Missouri Department of Transportation Director Pete Rahn’s recent decision to step down from his post for a senior vice president position at a Kansas City engineering firm. Commission Chairman Rudy Farber was in the audience this morning. Rahn’s resignation takes place on April 23.
The commission has named Kevin Keith, chief engineer, to serve as interim director. Keith has served as chief engineer of the agency since 2001.
“Kevin’s vast knowledge and experience make him an excellent choice to lead the department,” Farber said in a prepared statement. “His steady hand at the helm will allow us to conduct a comprehensive, national search for the next director of MoDOT.”
Richard said agriculture was under attack more than ever.
“We’ve got these people saying the killing of animals is imprudent,” he said. “I don’t know where they think those steaks and lamb chops come from.
“Agriculture is the No. 1 economic effort in Southwest Missouri and all of Missouri. We have to make sure ag survives.”
Meanwhile, state Rep. Kevin Wilson spoke on two measures Richard asked him to work on this legislative session: ethics reform and an autism bill.
Wilson, a Neosho Republican, said the autism bill originally came up at the end of the legislative session last year. But because questions on what services were needed and how the state would pay for them remained to be answered, the matter was shelved until the 2010 session.
“Nobody ever sat down with all of the parties involved and found common ground to provide the services people need and not break the backs of everyday people,” he said. “The bill came out of committee with a 14-0 vote. When it got to the House floor, things changed. Now it’s in the Senate and it’s a darn good bill that recognizes the needs there but at the same time, the costs.
Everybody is unhappy with the final outcome, which means it’s a good compromise.”
Wilson said his ethics panel heard 15 bills from both House Democrats and Republicans. The final bill incorporated ideas from these 15, as well as adding others, and came out of committee with a 12-0 vote.
State Rep. Marilyn Ruestman, R-Joplin, spoke on her school construction act, HB 1960, which exempts, except in counties with a charter form of government, the construction and maintenance work done for a school from the prevailing hourly wage rate requirement upon the approval of the school board.
She said the measure would save school districts between 25 and 40 percent of costs to build a new school.
“This gives local control, in that the school board makes the decision,” she said.
The measure passed out of committee 7-5, she said, and should be presented on the House floor within the next few weeks.
The session ended with an audience question and answer period.
