A letter opposing anti-vaccine proposals that was sent to the General Assembly was well-received, according to the Missouri Chamber of Commerce, because none of the bills were approved.
“They would have banned businesses from requiring vaccines in the workplace,” said Kara Corches, vice president of governmental affairs with the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “The only proposals related to vaccine requirements that did pass were solely focused on the public sector, not the private sector.”
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, House Bill (HB) 1692, an anti-vaccination proposal, was approved by the House and advanced to the Senate.
The letter, signed by Daniel P. Mehan, president, and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, explained to lawmakers that dictating employer vaccination policies interferes with employer rights and is a form of government overreach.
“Make no mistake, these proposals are anti-business and violate the principles of free enterprise,” Mehan wrote. “They are often aligned with trial attorney interests, seeking to open businesses to a flood of new lawsuits.”
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Mitchell Boggs, a Republican from La Russell.
“Our letter was in response to the various proposals that have been introduced this year, that in some form or fashion seek to limit a business's ability to require vaccines in the workplace, which we believe is an encroachment of our free enterprise system,” Corches told the St. Louis Record
HB 1692 was referred to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence but was not approved before the legislative session ended on May 13.
“We were really pleased with the General Assembly’s rebuff of these proposals,” Corches said. “We're happy that they are letting businesses decide and make these workplace policies, which they have the legal right to do.”
The Missouri Chamber launched the Let Business Decide initiative In an effort to protect Missouri’s employers from anti-vaccine legislation.
“We're always going to fight hard against these types of bills because it's a business's right to run their workplace as they see fit and it's a slippery slope,” Corches added. “This legislative session was focused on vaccine policies, but what could be next? The Missouri Chamber stands firm in defending business' rights.”