"The Voice of Missouri Business®" Weekly Report April 7-11, 2025

By Ray McCarty and Matthew Smith

April 11, 2025 - Here is a quick recap of some of our activities on your behalf this week.

Proposition A - Minimum Wage and Paid Sick/Domestic Violence Leave Revisions (AIM supports)

By now you know Associated Industries of Missouri has joined other business groups in supporting bills aimed at reducing the burden on employers due to the passage of Proposition A. See our separate article with the most current status HERE.

Tort Reform Bill Sent to Governor Kehoe (AIM supports)

Associated Industries is pleased to announce that a tort reform bill we supported, SB 47 (Trent), passed the House of Representatives this week and was sent to the Governor where he is expected to sign it into law. SB 47 aligns Missouri Supreme Court Rule 52.08 with the federal rule on class action certification, providing transparency and clarity in class actions rules. While this bill seems simple, it pushes Missouri closer to having common sense tort laws and helps Missouri become a friendly state for businesses. We would like to thank Senator Curtis Trent and Representative Dane Diehl for their leadership in getting this important piece of legislation across the finish line.

Creating Consistent Funding for the Air Pollution Control Program (AIM supports)

SB 120 (Bean), which provides a steady stream of funding for the Air Pollution Control Program, was debated on the Senate floor and perfected this week. The Air Pollution Control Program within the Department of Natural Resources provides permits for businesses that emit pollutants. Over the years, this program has been losing funding, given that businesses are now emitting less pollution. This is worrisome because if the program fails, then they will not be able to provide permits for essential industries in Missouri and we risk returning enforcement of the air laws to the EPA.

SB 120 provides a new funding stream by directing a percentage of sales taxes already collected from utility companies to a fund that may exclusively be used for support of the program. This bill would also stop the ‘sweeping’ of these funds (transferring any balance at the end of a fiscal year to the General Revenue Fund. This next step for the bill is approval by the Senate Fiscal Oversight Committee and another vote by the Senate as a whole before advancing to the Missouri House of Representatives.

Protecting Small Businesses from Local Regulations (AIM supports)

HB 344 (Keathley) was given first round approval by the Missouri House of Representatives this week. This bill prevents local governments from creating regulations that regulate the sale of some tobacco products. Local governments should not be able to hurt small businesses by heavily regulating the sale of legal products. Individual citizens should be able to make these decisions, not local governments. The bill will now move to the Senate for further deliberation.

Providing Childcare Relief to Missouri Working Families (AIM supports)

This week, in the Senate Emerging Issues and Professional Registration committee, AIM testified in support of HB 269 (Shields), which provides tax credits for childcare. This includes a tax credit for parents and employers providing contributions for childcare. Childcare has become a large burden on Missouri families who have children and want to return to the workforce. We support this because if a mother or a father wants to return to the workforce to provide for their families, childcare should not get in the way. The next step for this bill is to be approved by the Senate committee.

Supporting Common Sense Tort Reform (AIM supports)

AIM testified in support of SB 826 (Kurtis Gregory) in the Senate General Laws Committee which makes common sense reforms to civil actions in Missouri. Current law requires that if a defendant is found to be at fault for 51% or more of damages, then they are jointly and severally liable for the damages. This means they would have to pay all of the damages, even if they are only 51% or more liable. This bill requires defendants to be held liable for their portion of the damages, regardless of the percentage of fault. The next step for this bill is action by the Senate General Laws Committee.

Providing Accountability for Administrative Law Judges (AIM supports)

AIM testified in support of SB 667 (Henderson) in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill reforms the oversight and accountability of Administrative Law Judges (ALJs.) ALJs are responsible for overseeing and deciding many issues, including workers’ compensation hearings, making them essential to the process. However, we have had many issues with ALJ that are not performing their duties. This bill provides a more efficient way to hold these judges accountable and provides a smoother process for the investigation of their performance. We support this bill because if an ALJ is not performing their duties, then we should have a way to investigate, suspend, or remove them from their duties in a prudent manner. The next step for this bill is to be voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We intend to provide these legislative updates to you on a weekly basis on Fridays as we track the progress of these and other bills affecting Missouri businesses.