January brings a whirlwind of action for our advocacy team
Over the past month, the Chamber has been involved in every aspect of advocating on behalf of our members. In addition to preparing for upcoming school board and city council races, we are actively tracking more than 70 bills at the state level and have weighed in on numerous pieces of legislation. Several priority items have made progress in both Chambers of the General Assembly. The information below is just a snapshot of the many ways that we advocated on your behalf throughout the month of January.
January 10, 2015
Kicking off the legislative session and the month of January, lobbyist Scott Marrs predicted that changes to the legislative process would cause bills to move slower, preventing the passage of fewer pieces of flawed legislation.
January 20, 2015
The Chamber distributed its legislative agendas to every member of the Missouri General Assembly as well as our federal senators and representatives.
January 12, 2015
The Chamber's School Board Endorsement Task Force met to prepare for interviews with school board candidates. The interviews will take place later this month and serve as the first step in the candidate endorsement process.
January 22, 2015
The Chamber weighed in on multiple pieces of legislation which would prevent the Missouri Department of Revenue from changing the interpretation of sales tax laws without adequate notification to businesses.
January 13, 2015
The Springfield Good Government Committee, a partnership between the Chamber and Home Builders Association, announced its list of endorsed candidates for Springfield City Council at a Meet the Candidates reception.
January 22, 2015
Senator Kurt Schaefer, Chairman of the Appropriations Committee discussed the state budget process and funding for Missouri State and University of Missouri healthcare training programs both in a legislative update and in meetings with community leaders.
January 23, 2015
The Chamber Board hosted 13 members of the local legislative delegation for an overview of the top priorities in the Chamber's legislative agenda. Board members each took a turn providing a business perspective on a particular issue.
January 23, 2015
The Springfield News-Leader published an op-ed online and later in the Sunday paper in which business, education and health care leaders call for the release of funding for the University of Missouri clinical campus in Springfield and the Missouri State University occupational therapy program.
January 24, 2015
In an interview with KY3 reporter Drew Douglas, Chamber President Matt Morrow highlighted the economic and workforce development benefits of funding the University of Missouri clinical campus and Missouri State University occupational therapy program.
January 28, 2015
The Springfield Metro Partnership held meetings with the Governor's office, House and Senate Leadership, and our local delegation.
January 28, 2015
The month culminated in the Springfield Metro Partnership Salute to Missouri Legislator’s event where we and our partners hosted more than 500 legislators and regional leaders.
February 3, 2015
Governor Nixon announced that he would release $5.3 out of the $11.3 million which was approved by the legislature in 2014 for the University of Missouri and Missouri State University health care training programs. So far he has not indicated whether he plans to release the remaining funding for the programs.
