Missouri House begins legislative session
Anthony Brown
Rep. Allen Andrews
The members of the Missouri House of Representatives convened in the House Chamber on Wednesday, January 4 to officially open the 99th General Assembly. As the legislature begins the 2017 legislative session, the House currently stands at 116 Republicans and 46 Democrats with one vacancy. Of the 162 members serving in the House, there are a total of 39 new members, which includes 20 Republicans and 19 Democrats.
The legislature opened the 2017 legislative session with a much more optimistic tone regarding its working relationship with the incoming governor. As Speaker Todd Richardson said to the members of the House, “For the first time in Missouri’s history, our great state is governed by a super-majority of Republicans and a Republican in the governor’s mansion.” He added, “But with this greater power comes even greater responsibility; a responsibility to make the legislative process deliberative. That means we must respect the voices and viewpoints of every Missourian, as represented by each and every one of you.”
As Speaker Richardson addressed his colleagues in the House, he emphasized the need for Missouri to embrace new ideas that will help Missouri’s economy keep pace with a rapidly-changing world. As Richardson said, “A changing economy puts some of our old ways of doing things in doubt. Competing with other states and other countries for the jobs of today, requires a workforce, an education system, a legal framework, and labor policies that are capable of providing a strong, stable, and steady foundation for a growing economy. “
We always need to be reminded that the role of government is not to create jobs. The government’s role is to lay a stable foundation upon which entrepreneurs and hard-working Missourians can do the job-creating. With that in mind, the legislature will be addressing measures from regulatory and labor reform to ethics and tort reform to help create an economic environment conducive to growth and job creation.
