Committees have been appointed and a few committee hearings were held this week, including a Wednesday hearing of the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Local Government Committee, chaired by Senator John Griesheimer (R-26). The committee heard seven bills, including four "consent" bills.The "consent" designation was originally used to pass legislation necessary to transfer property from the state to local governments and has been expanded over the years to include bills that are generally non-controversial, have no cost and no revenue gain for the state or local governments. "Consent bills" enjoy special treatment with a special calendar and the number of consent bills that may be passed by a committee is not limited as it is with other bills.
The committee considered one such consent bill, SB 81 (Sen. Griesheimer) that would allow the City of Sullivan to impose a tourism room tax in the city and in the nearby Meramec Caverns area. There was no opposition voiced to the proposal and no action was taken on the proposal.
HB 327, a bill sponsored by Rep. Ron Richard (R-129) to increase the tax credit cap on the Missouri Quality Jobs program and HB 328 (also sponsored by Rep. Richard) regarding Enhanced Enterprise Zones have been referred to the House Special Committee on Job Creation and Economic Development, which is chaired by Rep. Richard. These two bills are priorities for the MEDC and we are pleased they are both poised for early consideration by the committee. HB 448, a bill sponsored by Rep. Michael Spreng (D-76) that exempts all motor vehicles assembled and sold in Missouri from sales and use tax has also been referred to the committee. The committee plans to meet next Wednesday, January 31, at 8:00 a.m for an organizational meeting. No legislation has been posted for consideration at this hearing.
An organizational meeting of the House Special Committee on Small Business has also been posted for Wednesday, January 31, also at 8:00 a.m. The committee plans to hear presentations from service providers for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Also on Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Economic Development Tourism and Local Government plans to meet at 2:00 to consider SB 89 by Senator Matt Bartle (R-8) a bill that would disqualify gaming establishments from the Quality Jobs program and SB 20 by Senator Griesheimer relating to tax increment financing.
NOTE: Additional hearings may be posted or hearing times and places adjusted up to 24 hours before the hearing, so if you plan to travel to Jefferson City to attend a hearing, you may want to check the full hearing schedules before you leave and be sure the bill you are interested in is still on the list for consideration. You may access the hearing lists through the links at the right-top of this page. Also, you may obtain additional information on each of the bills in this article by clicking on the link for each bill.
