JEFFERSON CITY — NFIB Missouri State Director Brad Jones is hopeful about several pro-small business measures currently before the state Legislature.
Jones said there are about six weeks left before the end of session and he hopes at least some of the measures will pass.
The measures include House Bill 1488, Senate Bill 742, House Bill 1960 and Senate Bill 894 and Senate Bill 825, which are a combined bill.
House Bill 1488 and Senate Bill 742 involve childcare so that parents can get care for their children and return to work if they choose to do so.
"In Missouri, we've got areas of the state that you can't find childcare, and they call them childcare deserts," Jones said in an interview with The St. Louis Record. "It's a business issue because you have so many folks out there that would like to be working and they just can't because they've got to stay home with the kids. On the flip side of that is that even in urban areas, childcare has gotten prohibitively expensive for some parents and from an economic standpoint, it just makes more sense for them to stay home with the kids."
Jones said the bills encompass a tax credit program that would benefit both parents and employers and the childcare facilities themselves.
Jones said House Bill 1488 has passed the House and is on the calendar for debate in the Senate.
Jones said the combined bill that encompasses Senate Bills 894 and 825 has three parts.
"The first part is something I really feel kind of strongly about and it is that the Department of Economic Development would be required to look and do a report on who is getting the contracts for the state," Jones said. "What size business, are they minority-owned, are they women-owned? Basically a profile on the kind of companies that are getting contracts for the state of Missouri. And I don't know that that information has necessarily been put together before."
Jones said the second part of the bill calls for an Office of Entrepreneurship.
"I think one of the most frustrating things for any small business is having a rather simple question and getting bounced around the phone system of the state of Missouri in Jefferson City to be able to find the person that can actually answer a question," Jones said. "So we're looking at the Office of Entrepreneurship is not only being an office, a cheerleader if you will, for small business in Missouri but also as a resource sort of a one-stop shop where people can call and say I've got this issue, and the office helps that person find the right person to talk to."
Jones said the final part is typically called the Sandbox Bill will provide regulatory relief for start-up businesses that may need a particular rule suspended or modified until the company is up and running.
"It would be sort of a waiver of certain regulations that might be in the way of their growth," Jones said.
Jones said House Bill 1960 passed the House and the combined Senate bill has passed the Senate.
"There is a chance from a timing standpoint that one of these, one of these bills in one of these chambers are going to have enough time to to make it to the Governor's office," Jones said.
Jones said NFIB Missouri is supportive of these bills.
Jones said there is also a bill by Rep. Travis Smith that would be helpful for businesses, as it would phase out the corporate income tax.