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Sen. Tim Green, Christian Hospital’s President Ron McMullen, Senator Jane Cunningham and North County Inc. President Rebecca Zoll at the 2011 North County Legislative Reception  (left photo)

Local State Legislators Meet With Civic,

Community and Business Leaders

Area Chambers, NCI Present Agenda at Reception

A wide range of state legislative matters ranging from economic development, to education, health care and transportation were part of the community, civic, and business leaders Legislative Reception for North County held Feb. 17 at Christian Hospital.

This collaborative event was hosted by the Greater North County Chamber of Commerce, the Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce, North County Incorporated Regional Development Association, and the Northwest Chamber of Commerce. The purpose of t is annual reception is to  allow area leaders to hear from area state legislators about matters affecting North County and the State of Missouri.

Program moderator Ann Brand, government relations liaison from St. Louis Community College, presented the 2011 North County legislative priorities on economic development, education, healthcare, transportation, and general issues.

State legislators in attendance were: Sen. Jane Cunningham, Sen. Tim Green, Rep. Margo McNeil, Rep.  Mary Nichols, Rep. Clem Smith, Rep. Sylvester Taylor, and Rep. Jake Zimmerman. Each had time to speak and answer a few questions from the audience.

North County Incorporated, Regional Development Association, the Greater North County Chamber of Commerce, the Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce, and the Northwest Chamber of Commerce collaboratively represent more than 1,000 area businesses, civic, and community organizations.  Christian Hospital generously hosted this event for area leaders.

The 2011 North County Legislative Agenda contained some of the following:

Economic Development

The three area chambers and North County Inc. supports:  Economic Development Tax Credits, Job Training ,Small Business and Entrepreneurial Growth, Redevelopment, Sustainable Development

” We support legislation that provides for a rebuilding and conservation of assets, while guarding against policies that cannibalize St. Louis County, and imprudently use taxes to unnecessarily develop large areas that cause conflict with the sustainability of already established communities,” the groups’ stated  in their prepared agenda passed out to everyone attending the reception

Education

The chambers and NCI support Primary & Secondary Funding and

legislation mandating fair and accurate property assessments. They endorse  the consolidation of responsibility for early childhood education programs to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  However, they oppose programs that would divert public funding into private institutions and be detrimental to our public school systems.

They support the local autonomy of school districts and limiting charter schools to the districts in which they presently exist “until such time as accreditation standards and rigorous academic standards are developed for these schools so that they become viable alternatives to public schools.”

They oppose open enrollment because research shows that these programs do not result in increased student achievement.  This research includes the Missouri General Assembly sub-committee study and report completed in 2010 on open enrollment.

Higher Education

The  three chambers and NCI support protecting core funding and stable allocations during the current budget shortfall.  They support secure funding, through appropriation or bonding, for renovation of Benton-Stadler science complex, and a new facility for the Colleges of Nursing and Optometry at UM-St. Louis. They support final $1.9 million adjustment to the University of Missouri-St. Louis’ base budget to address long-standing system-wide equity issues.

They also support funding for St. Louis Community College to develop a Corporate Workforce Development Center focused on flexible and customized industry education and training programs and funding for St. Louis Community College to continue renovation of science labs on campuses.

Healthcare

They support adequate funding of state health care programs and enhanced use of available federal funds to reduce the number of under and uninsured. They support full, affordable and comprehensive access to health insurance, as well as informed choice of doctors, hospitals and insurance plans and  adequate and timely Medicaid reimbursement to providers.

They support renewal of the Federal Reimbursement Allowance (FRA).  The FRA is the third largest revenue generator in the state of Missouri exceeded only by individual income taxes and sales and use taxes.

They oppose health insurance mandates that undermine the ability of employers to provide high-quality health insurance at a reasonable cost. They  support additional funding for trauma centers to maintain high-quality healthcare services for North St. Louis County.

Transportation

The group supports adequate Missouri transportation funding and a formula that reflects the economic strength and development needs of the St. Louis region and encourages the consideration of economic development and job creation impact when funding future projects.

They oppose efforts to redistribute money away from the St. Louis region and  encourage the emphasis on maintenance of existing infrastructure.  They support various forms of user fees be considered as one source of new transportation funding.  They support policies and funding for Metro that promote more effective and sustainable system operations, as well as system expansions in accordance with the Long Range Transit Plan.

General Issues

The three chambers and NCI took stands on three other issues.

On Predatory Lending, thye  support legislation that would impose stricter regulations, with penalties, on lenders who engage in unfair and deceptive lending practices. We support the state taking legal action against predatory lenders, such as payday and title loan companies.

They support a tax structure review due to structural deficits caused by an out-of-date revenue system. The legislature should maintain the clear delineation that sales taxes should be primarily maintained as a municipal revenue source and should oppose further incursions by other taxing entities that currently use other types of taxes.

They encourage investment in technology infrastructure and promote customer choice and support policies that establish reasonable regulatory treatment of all providers of telecommunications and video services to enhance infrastructure investment.

North County Incorporated, Regional Development Association, the Greater North County Chamber of Commerce, the Maryland Heights Chamber of Commerce, and the Northwest Chamber of Commerce collaboratively represent more than 1,000 area businesses, civic, and community organizations.  Christian Hospital generously hosted this event for area leaders.

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