Missouri lawmakers debate legislation that would mandate reporting of child sexual abuse

In the wake of the Jerry Sandusky trial, Missouri legislators are continuing to debate what defines a criminal in sexual abuse cases. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-St. Louis County, has sponsored a bill that would mandate that a witness of child sexual abuse come forward or face criminal charges. Schmitt said that the ultimate goal of this bill is not to criminalize people who are witnesses, but protect children in Missouri from sexual abuse.
"I think at the end of the day, what it comes down to for me is doing the right thing and expecting our neighbors to do the same to protect our kids," Schmitt said.
Current law states that only certain professionals who deal with children have a legal obligation to report cases of child sexual abuse.
Schmitt's bill provides that all people above the age of 18 would be required to report these cases to law enforcement. Those who fail to report a child sexual abuse case would face one year of jail time or a $1,000 fine.
Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, said only reasonable people should be held liable.
“I could see in my own mind somebody saying, ‘well I didn’t think what I saw was sexual abuse’ and the court saying ‘oh no, you’re going to jail,” Schaaf said.
Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Jackson County, questions the idea of turning a bystander into a criminal, especially in cases concerning parents having to report children.
"Though the child is in the system getting the assistance that they need, we need to consider everything that goes with it," Justus said. "Is the child going to be removed from the care of the parent and put into the foster care system? Is the child going to have to go on the sex offender registry? All of those things put parents and guardians in a really difficult place."
A Missouri task force was created last year that focused on the prevention of child sexual abuse. This group, titled the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children, conducted four public hearings last year and developed a report of their recommendations on how to prevent child sexual abuse.
The task force recommended that the state amend the mandatory reporting law, but did not make a witness liable to face criminal charges for failing to report.
Emily Van Schenkhof, task force member and deputy director of Missouri Kids First, testified against the new bill at Wednesday's hearing.
"We did consider something similar to what is in Sen. Schmitt's bill," Van Schenkhof said. "However, since most instances of child sexual abuse are not witnessed, it would not have a significant impact on child welfare in the state and thus they didn't make that recommendation."
Van Schenkhof also said that the most common people who witness child sexual abuse are other juveniles who, under Schmitt's bill, would not be required to report the case.
Though Schmitt said his bill is tailored to the specific situation of when an adult witnesses the sexual abuse of a child.
"If you're looking at this specifically it's probably pretty rare," Schmitt said. "Yet to the extent it does occur I think it's something we probably want people to report."

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Senate panel looks at slashing of business taxes

(MDN News) -- Republicans in the Missouri Senate are looking to dramatically lower the tax bills of business owners in the state, saying that the actions of surrounding state legislatures could leave Missouri's economy in the dust if lawmakers don't act quickly.

Sens. Eric Schmitt, R-St. Louis County, and Will Kraus, R-Lee's Summit, have each put forth proposals that would cut the state's corporate income tax rates and also allow business owners to deduct part of their business income on their individual tax returns.

Both senators told a Senate tax committee this week that the changes are necessary if Missouri wants to compete with states like Kansas. As of Jan. 1, some business income in Kansas is now exempt from the state's income tax and conservative lawmakers there are now pushing to eliminate the individual income tax altogether.

"The fact of the matter is, we are in a competition among other states," Schmitt said. "We don't operate in a vacuum. We're part of a larger decision-making process for business owners."

Schmitt's measure would cut the corporate tax rate from the current 6.25 percent to 3.125 percent by 2017 and would allow business owners to deduct half of their business income. The proposal from Kraus would allow a 25 percent deduction and would reduce the corporate rate to 3.25 percent by 2017.

A fiscal estimate attached to Schmitt's bill said it could cost the state as much as $200 million in revenue by 2016, while the cost of Kraus' bill was pegged at more than $924 million per year within three years.

Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence, said he is worried that taking that much revenue from Missouri's tenuously balanced budget could put vital state services, such as education or road construction, on the chopping block.

"We've seen the Kansas cut and now they can't fund their schools," LeVota said. "We see that we have cut and we've given away a lot of tax credits and now we can't fund our foundation formula. If we dig into tax policy that helps create jobs, which we all want to do, let's make sure that we're still paying for the basic obligations of the state."

Missouri Passes Bill to Phase Out Corporate Franchise Tax

The Missouri General Assembly today gave its final approval to a measure that will help spur job creation in Missouri. Senate Bill 19, sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, now moves to the governor’s desk for his signature to become law. The bill, if approved by the governor, would take effect August 28. The bill would first freeze and then phase out Missouri’s corporate franchise tax over a five year period.

“By phasing out this double taxation on employers we eliminate a disincentive that penalized companies for investing more in our state,” said Schmitt. “With the governor’s swift signature, companies would be able to invest in hiring new employees instead of growing government through higher taxes.”

The bill caps corporate franchise tax liabilities at the amount of each corporation's tax liability for the 2010 tax year. New businesses would be capped at the amount of their corporation's franchise tax liability for its first full year of existence. Then, beginning January 1, 2012, the tax would be phased out over a five year period.

Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer, R-Dexter, said putting Missourians back to work topped the Senate’s priority list for the 2011 Legislative Session.

“This bill is the first step to help put the more than 280,000 Missourians who have been out of work for the past year and a half back to work in good-paying jobs with benefits,” Mayer said. “By ending this double tax, we are making sure Missouri is competitive when it comes to bringing new investments and jobs to our state.”

Schmitt said Missouri is one of a few states that still charge businesses a tax just to expand or invest in our state. Kansas has been phasing out its franchise tax since 2007, and beginning in tax year 2011, it will be repealed altogether. The corporate franchise tax is based on a percentage of a company’s assets. Corporations already pay taxes on their earned income as well as Missouri sales and property taxes.

Schmitt noted the change would make Missouri more attractive to businesses currently looking to expand and, in particular, may lure businesses from Illinois that recently raised taxes on corporations.

“The corporate franchise tax is an outdated tax that is only still imposed in a handful of states,” said Schmitt. “While other states raise taxes on business in an attempt to close their budget gaps, we can set Missouri apart and make it clear that this is a place where businesses can expand and create jobs without being penalized.”

To learn more about the bill, visit www.senate.mo.gov.