As February moves along, the House continues to buckle down working on issues big and small in order to make Missouri a better place. From the budget to the EPA; paycheck protection to newborn screenings; the legislature continues to do the people’s business. Check out some of the highlights from this week below.
House Moves to Protect Worker Paychecks
On Thursday the Missouri House passed House Bill 251, sponsored by Rep. Jered Taylor, which prohibits labor unions from automatically deducting dues from an employee’s paycheck or using employee dues for political purposes without annual approval from the employee.
Currently, public sector employees must “opt-out” of paying union dues or fees when leaving a labor union. Under this system many public sector labor unions have created obtrusive bureaucratic roadblocks like requiring employees to opt-out during a certain time of year; requiring employees to speak with select union officials; and requiring employees to have multiple conversations in order to terminate union membership. These obstacles make opting out of union fees nearly impossible for many public sector employees.
Enacting paycheck protection will prohibit these abusive practices and ensure no Missouri public sector employees are forced to support political causes that violate closely held personal beliefs by archaic regulations and a carefully crafted web of bureaucratic red tape. House Bill 251 now moves over to the Senate for consideration.
House Urges the U.S. Senate to Confirm Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the EPA
This week the Missouri House passed House Resolution 12, sponsored by Rep. Travis Fitzwater, urging the United States Senate to confirm Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Thousands of Missourians from all walks of life have suffered over the last eight years as the EPA waged war on agriculture and economic development. Under the former President’s direction, constant executive overreach was the norm for the EPA, usually in the form of sweeping bureaucratic regulations like the “Clean Power Plan” and the “Waters of U.S. Rule”. These unconstitutional actions have hamstrung our economy, threatened to drastically raise energy prices on Missouri families and intruded on the private property rights of farmers and ranchers across our state. The EPA is in dire need of transformational leadership to ensure suggestions of hardworking Americans are heard and not overridden by the agenda of out of touch special interests.
President Trump has nominated Scott Pruitt to deliver the kind of robust leadership needed to reverse the unconstitutional executive overreach of Obama’s EPA. During his tenure as Oklahoma Attorney General, Scott Pruitt has repeatedly demonstrated dedication to enforcing environmental law and protecting hardworking families from unnecessary, burdensome regulations. As Administrator of the EPA, Scott Pruitt will protect our nation’s environment without strangling hardworking Missourians with excessive bureaucratic red tape. The House is proud to support Scott Pruitt’s nomination for Administrator of the EPA.
Governor Outlines Budget Plan
This week the House Committee on the Budget, chaired by Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, began reviewing the Governor’s budget proposal and heard testimony from the offices of the State Treasurer, Secretary of State, and State Auditor. The committee also received testimony from the Office of Administration as well as the Department of Revenue and Department of Transportation and Public Safety.
The Budget Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittees conducts a complete, in-depth review of our state finances every year and ensure every taxpayer dollar is spent wisely and efficiently. These committees, which play a vital role in the most constitutionally critical duty of the Missouri House, will continue to work to find innovative solutions to increase the efficiency of our government. The agenda set forth in our Governor’s budget proposal is being taken into account as the House works to craft a budget that provides necessary funding for priorities like education and infrastructure while ensuring the money of Missouri’s taxpayers is spent with the care and deliberation it should be afforded.
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