Some $2.83 billion of the $51 billion state budget is allocated toward expanding Interstate Highway 70 between Kansas City and St. Louis.
“There are a lot of things in the budget, and we've had receipts that have come in for this state as I've never seen before,” said National Federation of Independent Business State Director Brad Jones. “Then, you've got some of the ARPA money and federal money, which is sort of a perfect storm of revenue, and it happened. It's just a big budget.”
Last year’s budget was $47 billion. This year’s legislative session was different from 2022 in that gender-affirming care dominated the headlines, according to Jones.
“The transgender issue and some other social issues got a lot more attention than workforce development,” he said. “We were really disappointed with one of the workforce development bills that didn't pass. It's affectionately called the Sandbox bill.”
Also known as HB 268, the Regulatory Sandbox Act would have created an Office of Entrepreneurship among other things.
“This bill would have allowed small business owners to voice their concerns about regulations that are particularly troublesome and the bill would also have established a one-stop shop for small business owners who have a question or problem with Missouri state government," Jones told the St. Louis Record.
Tax relief bills, HB 816 and 660, were also left on the table. The proposals would have lowered the top income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.50% and lowered the corporate tax rate from 4% to 2%, respectively.
“Unfortunately, small businesses didn’t win the popularity contest when it came to the state budget,” Jones said in an interview. “With the state being flush with revenue, it seems like it would have been a good time to lower the tax rate for our job creators.”
Another loser was tort reform. SB 117 and HB 272 would have shortened the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits from five to two years.
“It is disappointing that certain senators are more interested in feathering the nest of their trial lawyer buddies than taking care of their small business owners,” Jones said.
The one bill that was approved by lawmakers that is expected to benefit small business owners is HB 417.
Known as the Upskill bill, HB 417 reimburses businesses that offer training and education to their employees.
"That is one of the biggest problems of small business right now is hiring people who are qualified for the job and then keeping them and the Upskill bill would allow for some reimbursement.," Jones added.