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JANUARY 30, 2008
RCGA
Leadership Presents 2008 Missouri Legislative Agenda to State
Leaders and Legislators.
RCGA Board Chairman Bob
Reynolds, Chairman, President, and CEO of Graybar
Electric Company and RCGA Board Public Policy Committee Chairman
Steve Lipstein, President and CEO of BJC
HealthCare, and RCGA Board Public Policy Committee Vice-Chairman
Tom Campbell of Gallop, Johnson Neuman led the
RCGA delegation and presented the 2008 RCGA legislative agenda
to statewide officials and legislative leaders in Jefferson
City. The RCGA delegation advanced three priorities to
improve economic growth for Missouri (1) the removal of caps and
sunsets on proven economic development tax credits, (2) the
"Grow Me State" Initiative to improve capital formation for
entrepreneurial companies, and (3) full funding of the Life
Sciences Trust Fund. These three policy proposals
will create jobs, stimulate capital investment and
generate new state revenue.
Scenes from RCGA Legislative Day
RCGA Board Chairman
Bob Reynolds (front, center) with Governor
Matt Blunt (right) and members of the RCGA
leadership delegation (from left to right) Steve
Lipstein, BJC HealthCare, Dick Fleming, St. Louis RCGA,
Tracy Hart, Tarlton, Marilyn
Bush, Bank of America, Michael Holmes,
Express Scripts, and RCGA Public Policy Chairman John
Sondag of AT&T
Lt. Governor Peter
Kinder speaks at the RCGA Legislative Day luncheon.
Seated from left to right: Tom Campbell of
Gallop, Johnson Neuman, Tracy Hart of Tarlton,
Bob Reynolds of Graybar, and Jim Cloar
of the Downtown St. Louis Partnership.
RCGA Board Public Policy Committee
Chairman Steve Lipstein discusses the RCGA
Legislative Agenda to Senate Minority Leader Maida
Coleman
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The delegation made the strong case to legislators
that economic development tax credits are
investments in job growth not
costs, and that Missouri must remove caps and sunsets
on programs like Missouri Quality Jobs. Companies who are
exploring long-term investment decisions in Missouri need
the certainty that the tax credit will be available when
their project occurs. A recent DED study concluded that
for every $1.00 of state tax credit, the Missouri Quality
Jobs returns $10.49 in new state revenue. For more
background on the importance of tax credits as investments, click here for the RCGAdvocate
Issue Brief.
The "Grow
Me State" Initiative, endorsed by a statewide coalition
of chambers of commerce, seeks to fill Missouri's gap in capital
formation. A recent study by the Bloch School of Business at
UMKC found that Missouri spends $0.10 per capita on
capital formation activities compared to $2.79 our in
neighboring states. To catch up, the "Grow Me State"
Initiative recommends Missouri invest $17.2 million directed to
entrepreneurial activity such as:
- A $5 million
angel tax credit
- $10 million for a seed
capital technology business finance program to co-invest in
start-up companies,
- $1.25 million for a "proof of
concept" finance program to assist in commercialization of
research technology, and
- $1 million for enhanced
support for the Missouri Technology Corporation.
The RCGA leadership delegation advocated for full
funding of the Life Sciences Trust Fund
($38 million) for FY 2009, as a necessary
step for Missouri to reach its potential as a leader in plant
and medical science research. Last year, $13.4 million
was allocated to the fund, yet requests for research grants
reached $35 million, indicating Missouri's strong research
capacity and demand. Governor Blunt recommended $19.4 million
for the Life Sciences Trust Fund in the next budget year,
diverting half to other purposes. The RCGA recommended that
medical research be eligible for funding from the Life Sciences
Trust Fund, as last year the Fund was restricted to grants in
plant and animal science research.
The RCGA thanks the following elected
officials for meeting with our delegation:
. Governor Matt Blunt
. Lt. Governor Peter Kinder
. Senate President
Pro-Tem Michael Gibbons
.
Speaker of the House Rod Jetton
. Senate Majority Floor Leader Charlie
Shields
. Senate
Minority Leader Maida Coleman
. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Bill
Stouffer
. Senate
Appropriations Chairman Gary Nodler
. Senate Economic Development Chairman John
Griesheimer
. Senator
Jeff Smith
. Senator
Tom Dempsey
. House
Speaker Pro-Tem Bryan Pratt
.
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley
. House Minority Leader Paul
LeVota
. House
Transportation Committee Chairman Neal St. Onge
. House Budget Committee Chairman
Allen Icet
. House
Economic Development Committee Chairman Ron Richard
. House Minority Whip Connie
Johnson
. House
Minority Caucus Vice-Chair Gina Walsh
Future issues
of the RCGAdvocate will detail the progress of these
three legislative priorities.
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| Focus on Illinois: Will this Be the Year for the
Capital Bill?
 With the Chicago transit crisis finally
addressed, the Illinois General Assembly needs to turn its
attention to passage of the capital bill. Several important
transportation and education infrastructure projects await
action to meet the growing needs in Southwestern Illinois.
One project is the new science building at Southern
Illinois University-Edwardsville (rendering shown above). The
current building, constructed in 1966, houses classrooms,
instructional laboratories, and research laboratories for
multiple disciplines. The growth of programs in the basic and
health sciences, including dentistry, nursing, pharmacy,
engineering, has placed increasing demands on this aging
facility and has strained building's capacity and the academic
programs to the point of severely limiting their functionality.
Piecemeal modifications to the building to accommodate
programmatic changes have also taxed the building's HVAC,
electrical and mechanical systems. This $75 million project will
renovate
approximately 78,000 sq ft of existing science program space and
construct approximately 136,000 sq ft of new science program
space.
The RCGA urges the Illinois General
Assembly to act on the capital bill this session, so that
projects like the SIU-E Science Building can move
forward.
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The RCGAdvocate is published
periodically to inform RCGA members and government officials
about important public policy matters at the state, federal and
local levels. It seeks to provide timely, in-depth coverage on
regional issues, and, at times, to call RCGA members to action.
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
Chip Casteel ~ Senior V.P. of Public
Policy ~ (314) 444-1107 ~ ccasteel@stlrcga.org
Susan Stauder ~ V.P. of Infrastructure & Public
Policy ~ (314) 444-1155 ~ sstauder@stlrcga.org
Kevin Riggs ~ Director of Illinois Government Affairs ~ (314)
444-1108 ~ kriggs@stlrcga.org
Eric Schneider ~ Director of Public Policy Research ~ (314)
444-1148 ~ eschneider@stlrcga.org
Christine Snively ~ Project Manager ~ (314) 444-1144 ~ csnively@stlrcga.org
Marlo Young ~ Executive Assistant for Public Policy ~ (314)
444-1134 ~ myoung@stlrcga.org
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February 6: RCGA Legislative Breakfast
at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City from 7:00 a.m. to
8:30 a.m., sponsored by Bryan Cave LLP, a leading business and
litigation firm with global reach, a strong reputation and a
long history of success, with Missouri offices in St. Louis,
Kansas City and Jefferson City. For more information and to
RSVP, contact Marlo Young at 
