A Moment with Mike -- Retaining Small Businesses

The tradition of “throwing paper in the air” brought an end to the first session of the 96^th General Assembly at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening. It is difficult to describe that mixture of feelings that include relief, fatigue, disappointment, pride, satisfaction and patriotism as you ponder the reality of the many bills, initiatives and ideas that have either passed through the process or failed, but will have an effect on the citizens of Missouri for years to come. The cumbersome process is frustrating at times but also adds some protection from ideas and regulations that may seem progressive and necessary by some and redundant or harmful to others.

A bill only becomes law after it has gone through a number of steps in both the House and the Senate. Getting agreement throughout the process without having things added to the bill that are undesirable is difficult. These steps guarantee that anything that passes and is sent to the Governor for one more step has been vetted appropriately. That does not mean that we all agree but each Representative or Senator tries to represent the constituents in their part of the state and hopefully most things passed represent the over-all good for the state.

We started session with a pledge to live within our means, keep taxes low and balance the state budget. I believe we have accomplished these priorities and have passed measures that will positively affect Missourians in all walks of life. One top priority was to create an atmosphere to attract and retain small business and we successfully passed legislation that will reduce regulations and cut down on frivolous lawsuits for small businesses and family farms.

We continued to represent Missouri taxpayers by requiring drug tests for welfare recipients, if they are suspected of abusing drugs, so we know our tax dollars are used to provide a hand up and not a hand out. We went after the worst of the worst by toughening penalties on those who attempt to facilitate human trafficking and we took a strong stand for the unborn and defined what a viable life in Missouri actually is. We passed a reasonable fix to Prop B that will improve the safety and enforceability of animals and bad actors, but also protect our agriculture industry and we made several changes in the “right to carry” laws including the extension of these rights to 21 year olds which makes us consistent with the other states around us.

Two pieces of legislation approved by the General Assembly will appear on the November 2012 ballot for voter approval. One will be to protect and clarify the rights of Missourians to pray in public places and the other will determine the need for a photo ID to vote.

I was pleased that we were able to extend the MO Rx program that benefits over 200,000 senior citizens and we funded the Area Agencies on Aging to enable them to continue the “Meals on Wheels” program that provides a service to those who cannot provide well for themselves.

One of the more difficult initiatives that took a lot of time and consideration was the passing of a redistricting map that would establish the boundaries for the 8 congressional districts in our state. This was completed with a historical override of the Governor’s veto and this will be in law for at least the next ten years.

These are a few of the initiatives that were passed this session and I will give a more detailed overview of some of these in the coming weeks. Right now I am looking forward to staying in the district and seeing all of you at the parades, carnivals, dinners and other events throughout the area.

If you have questions, you may reach me at my Capitol number 573-751-9465, at the local district number, 660-582-4014, by email at mike.thomson@house.mo.gov or by mail at Room 401B State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101

Ballot Initiative would Create Right to Pray

A ballot initiative would clarify religious freedoms to include the right of people to pray in a public setting. The measure is currently in the Missouri Senate; if passed, the measure would go before the voters in the 2012 General Election or at a special election called for that purpose by the governor. The initiative would ensure that "any person shall have the right to pray individually or corporately in a private or public setting" provided that it is not disruptive. The bill would protect students against discrimination based on the religious content of their work. It would require all schools, including Worth County and Northeast Nodaway to display the text of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution in a prominent place.

Conservative Christian groups have long attacked public schools for what they see as schools creating a hostile environment for public prayer and for excluding creationism, or the belief that God created the world in seven literal days and that the world is less than 10,000 years old, from public schools. They argue that there is scientific basis for the creation of the earth based on the work of groups like the Institute for Creation Research. Other groups argue that this bill is simply a backdoor attempt to force schools to discuss creationism and amounts to the establishment of religion in schools.