Competing for Jobs

Here’s how we are helping Missouri become a leading state for job growth.

driver overview

Without a competitive business climate, Missouri cannot maintain a seat at the global table. Gallup dug deeply into key areas that impact Missouri’s business climate and found that fewer than one in four employers is satisfied with Missouri’s litigation climate, tax environment or government regulations.

Simplicity, predictability, transparency and efficiency should guide future policy.

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Gallup’s research has identified several factors in our business climate that Missouri can address. Simplicity, predictability, transparency and efficiency should guide future policy. The Missouri Chamber has long been considered the most influential business advocacy group in Missouri’s Capitol. Missouri 2030 will make that lobbying team even stronger with additional advocacy resources and tools. More and more, due in large part to term limits, public policy is circumventing the legislature and instead is being made through government agencies and in the courts. Missouri 2030 arms the Missouri Chamber with the support it needs to become a stronger presence in these areas.

goals and action steps

Click to read more about the progress we’ve made on this goal or action step.

Continue to aggressively monitor Missouri’s business climate and advocate for improvements in the areas of tax policy, legal environment, unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation systems, labor, health care and other factors impacting business competitiveness

Maintain the strongest advocacy team for business in Jefferson City by providing cutting-edge support resources.
Develop targeted research studies to support advocacy efforts on key issues.
Invest in annual statewide issue polls.
Invest in communications tools and campaigns to keep employer members, legislators, media and the general public engaged in pro-jobs policymaking.

Keep Missouri’s corporate taxes competitive and guarantee consistency

Conduct a comprehensive study of Missouri’s state budget, including a 15-year projection of expected revenue growth and spending, to use in setting long-term tax policy.
Commission an analysis of Missouri’s tax code by leading tax professionals and present an actionable list of recommendations that can be legislated.
Conduct annual state-by-state comparisons of tax levels.

Become a model state for fair and balanced resolution for injured workers and unemployed workers while lowering transaction costs of the workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance systems

Tap into the expertise of corporate defense attorneys among Missouri Chamber membership through the Missouri Chamber Legal Foundation to help monitor legal decisions and other factors impacting Missouri’s workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance systems.
Provide legal white papers through the Missouri Chamber Legal Foundation to help Missouri employers stay in compliance with changes in the law.

Improve Missouri’s corporate litigation environment

Expand manpower for the Missouri Chamber Legal Foundation to increase advocacy strength, engage in the judicial selection process and intervene in corporate legal cases.
Perform a state-by-state analysis of key legal reforms (employment law, comparative fault, punitive judgments, evidentiary standard) and implement a plan to align Missouri with states that have more balanced, competitive litigation climates.
Invest in research to analyze the impact of Missouri’s unbalanced tort system on our economy to support advocacy efforts. Compare Missouri with other states in numbers of corporate suits filed, cases settled pretrial and cases filed in state and federal courts, among other data.
Build an alliance of Missouri’s corporate counsels and convene regularly to develop a common action plan and path toward meaningful legal reforms.
Establish an aggressive public relations plan to support legal reform efforts.
Build a database that tracks political contributions from trial attorneys to elected officials and invest in a paid and earned media campaign and social media to publicize.

Implement labor reforms

Monitor labor activity in other states and build resources and support to enact competitive labor reforms in Missouri.
Invest in a strong grassroots campaign and media plan to enact labor reforms.
Build a database that tracks political contributions from unions to elected officials and invest in a paid and earned media campaign and social media to publicize.

Improve access to quality, cost-effective health care

Enact strong Medicaid reforms.
Build resources to support advocacy for medical malpractice caps.
Research methods to provide transparency in the health care system.
Research market-driven solutions to reduce small-employer health care costs.

Foster entrepreneurs and innovation

Provide annual regional entrepreneur networking events.
Proactively identify students and residents with entrepreneurship talent who are most likely to start a new business. Work with schools and universities to develop the interest, skills and partnerships needed to capitalize on this talent.
Conduct an annual tax policy review to maximize the benefits for startup and high-growth companies.
Expand flexible capital formation through policies that encourage new market tax credits, venture capital, angel networks and crowdfunding.
Promote collaborative industry and higher education research and development to increase our ability to commercialize research projects.

Identify economic areas of strength and leverage through collaboration and strategic policy, including agriculture, banking, energy, finance, insurance, health care, manufacturing and technology sectors

Build alliances of the state’s leading companies and experts for each of these sectors to collaborate and develop actionable plans for growth.

Protect Missouri’s military bases, defense contractors and defense agencies and the contributions of these organizations to our economy

Produce educational materials that identify the economic impact of Missouri’s military bases, defense contractors and defense agencies and use as tools to unify the business community, state and federal policymakers, and other stakeholders in an effort to protect our Department of Defense assets.
Deploy a public relations campaign to shore up support and understanding of the role the military bases, defense contractors and defense agencies and companies that support the military play in Missouri’s economy.

Increase the number of veterans and family members that we retain in Missouri’s workforce after service and encourage retired military to choose Missouri as a permanent residence

Deploy an education campaign among Missouri Chamber Federation members to enact veteran-friendly policy and programs in their communities.
Provide educational materials to policymakers and lawmakers to build the case for more veteran-friendly policies that will encourage more veterans to stay in Missouri after service.
Support an effort to build a statewide portal of support groups, programs and services available to veterans and their families.
Work with military bases and the business community to strengthen communication and bridge opportunities for veterans and their families.
Work with military bases to provide annual meetings for spouses of service men and women to make them aware of work opportunities in communities where they are stationed.

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