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Northwest Missouri legislators expect to face some of the most serious decisions in recent years when they return to Jefferson City for the convening of the 2012 General Assembly in January.
State Sen. Brad Lager of Savannah, who the 12th Senate District, and Rep. Mike Thomson of Maryville, who represents the 4th House District, said Wednesday that allocation of limited state resources will be the most significant challenge during the coming session.
Their remarks came during a legislative coffee hosted by the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce.
"We are looking at a $400-to-$600 million budgetary shortfall as we begin the session," Lager said. "If you consider we operate a budget of $7 billion, that is not all that serious right now, but we must get our spending under control."
The senator said Missouri's fundamental economic structure needs to be changed for the first time since 1976.
"That is how long it has been since we updated the way we do business, and I am here to tell you, there is no business in this state still doing business the way it did in 1976," Lager said.
"The toughest decisions have yet to be made, and I humbly submit the only way to fill the holes in our system is to not do what we have done before."
Lager said that in the current climate in Jefferson City, entitlements and economic incentives are the critical discussion points and "pro business means pro economic incentives."
He said the three important decisions that need to be made revolve around the state's regulatory system, its litigation limits, and taxation, "and we must address all three."
Lager used the automotive industry as an example of the decisions he believes Missouri should make. While Missouri at one time ranked near the top in the country in auto production, now only one plant, in Kansas City, still operates.
"The auto industry is expanding — in right-to-work states," he said. "What do we want to be?"
Missouri currently has a lack of support for entrepreneurial development, according to Lager, who also said the state needs to take a stand against increased regulations that hamper the development of new jobs.
"We are going to have to deal with the budget in the short term, but in the long run, we are going to have to take on the real issue — does Missouri want an income tax, or not?"
Northwest Missouri legislators expect to face some of the most serious decisions in recent years when they return to Jefferson City for the convening of the 2012 General Assembly in January.
State Sen. Brad Lager of Savannah, who the 12th Senate District, and Rep. Mike Thomson of Maryville, who represents the 4th House District, said Wednesday that allocation of limited state resources will be the most significant challenge during the coming session.
Their remarks came during a legislative coffee hosted by the Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce.
"We are looking at a $400-to-$600 million budgetary shortfall as we begin the session," Lager said. "If you consider we operate a budget of $7 billion, that is not all that serious right now, but we must get our spending under control."
The senator said Missouri's fundamental economic structure needs to be changed for the first time since 1976.
"That is how long it has been since we updated the way we do business, and I am here to tell you, there is no business in this state still doing business the way it did in 1976," Lager said.
"The toughest decisions have yet to be made, and I humbly submit the only way to fill the holes in our system is to not do what we have done before."
Lager said that in the current climate in Jefferson City, entitlements and economic incentives are the critical discussion points and "pro business means pro economic incentives."
He said the three important decisions that need to be made revolve around the state's regulatory system, its litigation limits, and taxation, "and we must address all three."
Lager used the automotive industry as an example of the decisions he believes Missouri should make. While Missouri at one time ranked near the top in the country in auto production, now only one plant, in Kansas City, still operates.
"The auto industry is expanding — in right-to-work states," he said. "What do we want to be?"
Missouri currently has a lack of support for entrepreneurial development, according to Lager, who also said the state needs to take a stand against increased regulations that hamper the development of new jobs.
"We are going to have to deal with the budget in the short term, but in the long run, we are going to have to take on the real issue — does Missouri want an income tax, or not?"
Thomson briefly addressed the decline in funding for the foundation formula used to allocate money for public schools.
He also said that natural disasters over the past year will have a significant fiscal impact both in terms of recovery costs and in tax base reductions caused by storm and flood damage.
"Rock Port is looking at losing as much as $300,000 in valuations as a result of flooding in that district," Thomson said.
Thomson labeled himself a "traditionalist" when it comes to eduction, and said that "revisionists" are gaining control when it comes to funding.
Turning to higher education, he said he supports a proposal that would enable Northwest Missouri State University and other colleges and universities to enter into leases without legislative approval.
