FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ray McCarty, (573) 634-2246
September 10, 2015
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. – Associated Industries of Missouri supported all of these pieces of legislation during the 2015 regular legislative session and advocates for approval of these bills over Governor Nixon’s veto.
HB 116 “Right to Work”
This bill says that an employee must not be denied employment because they do not join a union or pay union dues. Missouri needs a “Right to Work” law to be able to compete for businesses that prefer to locate or expand in states that have such a law. The law will also ensure that unions provide services to their members that justify the dues the members are paying. AIM supports this bill.
HB 150 Unemployment Compensation
Associated Industries of Missouri supports this bill. The bill reduces the number of weeks of unemployment benefits when the unemployment rate is low and prohibits a former employee with a severance package from collecting unemployment while receiving the severance pay. Even New York has modernized their law to prohibit payment of unemployment benefits while a former employee is collecting severance pay. The House has already voted to override the governor’s veto. There is no time limit on the vote in the Senate to also override the governor’s veto.
HB 722 State pre-emption of local laws
We support this bill that clarifies the supremacy of state law in the area of employment law (including minimum wage) and prohibits ordinances that ban the use of plastic bags at retail establishments. State law already establishes a statewide minimum wage, allowing employers to pay the state minimum wage and no local government may override this statute. Recent efforts to increase the minimum wage that must be paid by private sector employers conflict with the existing prohibition against such ordinances and such ordinances are illegal.
HB 1022 Return of premiums to insureds by insurance company
Currently, some insurance companies allow a return of premiums to people and businesses that do not file claims against their policy. This bill simply allows the insurance company to reward those people and businesses by returning a portion of the premium they have paid.
SB 20 Commercial laundry sales and use tax exemption
The Missouri Supreme Court issued a recent decision stating that commercial laundry operations were not the same as manufacturing and not entitled to the same sales and use tax exemptions as manufacturers. We disagree with this decision. This bill would allow commercial laundries the same sales and use tax exemption that is allowed for manufacturers.
SB 142 Missouri Department of Natural Resources – Implementation Impact Reports
The bill requires the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to prepare and submit implementation impact reports prior to submitting a State Implementation Plan of an EPA regulation to the EPA.
