Wallingford updates local business community on legislative session

State Rep. Wayne Wallingford gave a legislative update Friday to attendees of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee at the Show Me Center and commented on several pieces of legislation he has helped sponsor or voted on in his first session as a House member.

Of legislation that has already been signed, Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, brought up House Bill 412, which extends the state's prescription drug assistance program, the Missouri RX Plan, that was scheduled to end in August. The plan coordinates benefits with the Medicare Part D prescription program. Wallingford said the House fought to preserve the program, ending with the final funding budget covering the program until August 2014.

He also discussed a section of the Fix the Six priorities sent to Gov. Jay Nixon by business groups in January -- House Bill 119, a plan to phase out corporate franchise tax by 2016. Wallingford said he supported the bill, because in his mind the businesses paying the tax were being subjected to double taxation. He said its elimination would help Missouri be a first choice for relocating businesses, as well as help the state compete with neighboring states like Illinois, where taxes are increasing, and Kansas, which has no franchise tax.

Other passed bills Wallingford briefed attendees on were House Bill 45, which will provide an income tax deduction available to certain small businesses for creating new full-time jobs; and House Bill 109, which authorizes a permanent extension of the Missouri Linked Deposit Program, providing access to low-interest loans for farmers and small businesses.

Wallingford said he was particularly disappointed over the veto of Senate Bill 188 by Gov. Nixon, which he said would have changed employment discrimination laws in Missouri to mirror federal laws. Companies could have invested more dollars in hiring new employees rather than spending time in courts with legal fees, Wallingford said.

Time was out for the presentation before Wallingford could finish comments on House Bill 223, a bill he sponsored with Rep. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, which according to the bill language will make a $500 grant available to recipients of financial aid under the A+ Schools or Access Missouri programs if a high enough score is received on two advanced placement examinations in mathematics or science while attending a Missouri public high school. The bill also establishes the Nursing Education Incentive Program to address nursing shortages by allowing the Department of Higher Education to award $150,000 grants to public and private colleges for offering a nursing program that meets specific guidelines.

Other bills not yet signed Wallingford did not sponsor but planned to comment on were House Bill 641, which would make possessing some synthetic drugs like marijuana alternatives and synthetic cocaine sold as bath salts a class C felony; and House Bill 214, which would strengthen state laws on human trafficking. On House Bill 214, Wallingford said he thinks people see human trafficking as an issue affecting countries like Mexico, but gave examples of places within Missouri, like Kansas City and Lebanon, where incidents have occurred. Wallingford said his work so far in the House has gotten off to a fast start because of the elimination of freshman orientation for members and his participation in the Leadership Missouri Program prior to the start of his term. He also said he has learned the importance of being a second name sponsoring a bill under a well-known member, as well as reaching across party lines to co-sponsor bills.

Pertinent address:

1333 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, MO