ST. LOUIS — Following the story at the end of session where House and Senate leadership reflected on the session’s trials and triumphs, The Missouri Times decided to reach out to as many legislators, lobbyists and associations as possible and get their input. We asked what letter grade they would give the session, and why they would give it that grade. This is what the lobbyists and associations said.
[divider style=”bold”][/divider]
What the lobbyists said…
“B+ — We overall had a pretty good year for our clients. For our business clients, getting second injury fund resolved was a major win for us. Getting unemployment insurance tightened up is something we were happy about as well, so those are some of the plusses. We did manage to get some tax credits extended, but if we have on regret it’s not getting more broad tax credit reform.”
— Shannon Cooper
—–
“B — This year was an improvement. These last couple of years you had personality conflicts. As opposed to communicating regularly, [leadership] would stay in their offices. I think Dempsey and Jones have a good demeanor.”
— James Harris
—–
“The problem with grading is everyone sees it from slightly different perspective. The General Assembly has an incredibly difficult job because they have a bunch of people internally and externally saying these are the things you ought to do. They attempted to address most of those issues. Whether those came to what most people expected is a difficult matter. “
— Sam Licklider
—–
“B-/C+ — The Senate’s ability to get out legislation was better than the last three or four years, certainly better than last year. There were key pieces of legislation that I would have liked them to get to. Both bodies have some strong leadership teams.”
— Franc Flotron
—–
“B+ — You have to judge them against previous sessions, not necessarily expectations. I think they met most of those expectations. Sen. Dempsey said he was unhappy about not having an economic development bill. They just didn’t get the big omnibus done. But I think they did get some economic development done, with sports tax credits, benevolent tax credits, etc. My clients consistently asked about workers compensation, and they got that done. That’s an everyday kind of issue. It was long past overdue. I’d give it a good grade for those reasons.”
— Jorgen Schlemeier
—–
“B- — There were a lot of issues that were key on the legislative tasks that didn’t get through. Primarily because of lack of timing in the Senate to be able to take those issues up and pass them in a timely manner. As long as I’ve been up there, for 24 years, that happens every single year. They also know they could pass things quicker if they really wanted to. There’s a lack of coordination between House and Senate on what their priorities are.”
— Gary Burton
[divider style=”bold”][/divider]
What the associations said…
“B — We were happy to see initiative petition reform passed. It’s important to our members and a priority. We hoped the Right to Farm amendment language would be stronger.”
— Blake Hurst, Missouri Farm Bureau
—–
“A- — Passing that bill, all of the unemployment legislation was very much appreciated, with the exception of one provision of the workers compensation legislation; we were very pleased with it. I would also say on the Senate side passing the un-vetted version of HB 320 was not a pro business move on the final day of session. The provisions in that bill would have established a protected class for employees that are lesbian, gay or transgendered. The problem isn’t with establishing the class. It was that the class was being established, and the language included that was the trade off for that codified the existing standard for discrimination. We would have codified a very low standard and a new class. It’s also not necessary because Federal law protects it. Leaders in both bodies seemed to understand that tax cuts and addressing Missouri business issues are going to help our economy.”
— Ray McCarty, Associate Industries of Missouri
—–
“Working on a pass/fail system I would give them a ‘pass’ for moving the Second Injury Fund bill.’
— Sara Schuett, Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
—–
“F — Legislative leaders failed on the issues that matter most to Missouri families: creating jobs and expanding Medicaid. Instead, they worried about United Nations takeovers, sharia law, nullifying the constitution, and collecting obscene quantities of lobbyist gifts. #MOLegFail.”
— Sean Nicholson, Progress Missouri
—–
“B — They were better than last year, but there are still a couple of big items that haven’t been addressed. We went another year without an economic development package. Transportation… that idea never came to fruition. We need to think big as a state and that’s the point of the legislature. I was impressed by the leadership in the Senate and the House and the way they tried to get things done and communicated a lot better than past years. Senate came out early moving on all cylinders.”
— Dan Mehan, Missouri Chamber of Commerce
—–
“MHA grades the session as an incomplete. With Medicaid reform unfinished and the issue of medical liability reform unresolved, it would be hard to assign a grade. We appreciate lawmakers’ successes on hospital licensure reform, and insurance coverage, among other issues. However, with interim committees being formed to address the unfinished Medicaid business, we’re withholding a score for now.”
— The Missouri Hospital Association
