26 MISSOURI BUSINESS CASEY BUCKMAN
Accomplishments: Policy For many years, Missouri has been stuck in a state of almost. The big reforms, the ones needed to truly chart a new course for Missouri, tended to come up just short — blocked by a governor’s veto, a filibuster or a failed override vote. It’s no surprise, then, that some of our state’s biggest job growth opportunities were meeting a similar fate — almost but not quite. In 2017, things changed. Missouri voters and a united business community sent a staunchly pro-jobs governor to Jefferson City alongside record numbers of business-friendly legislators who were empowered to act on several longneglected priorities. Guided by the research and policy recommendations within Missouri 2030, the Missouri business community was poised for results. Many of the bills passed this year relate directly to the goals of the Missouri Chamber’s Missouri 2030 plan. FINDING A TRANSPORTATION FUNDING SOLUTION Missouri’s transportation system remains in need of a new investment strategy. To continue this discussion, the legislature passed a resolution to set up a task force that will study the condition of Missouri’s transportation system and offer funding recommendations by Jan. 1, 2018. REFORMING EMPLOYMENT LAW Senate Bill 43, sponsored by Sen. Gary Romine, a Republican from Farmington, was signed into law and provides a longawaited response to a series of Missouri Supreme Court decisions that lowered the bar in employment discrimination cases and opened the door to frivolous lawsuits against businesses. For a decade, the court-constructed standard has made Missouri one of the easiest places in the country to sue a company and win. Trial lawyers profited by exploiting this situation, which forced businesses into a defensive posture and stunted their ability to make necessary personnel decisions to address workplace problems. Senate Bill 43 fixes this problem while ensuring that businesses engaging in the unacceptable act of discrimination are held accountable. FIXING COLLATERAL SOURCE One new law approved in 2017 will allow courts to consider whether a plaintiff’s losses have been covered or reduced through other sources such as insurance, workers’ compensation or adjusted hospital billing. Senate Bill 31, sponsored by Sen. Ed Emery, a Republican from Lamar, will stop plaintiffs from using inflated damages to trigger windfall-sized awards. RAISING EXPERT WITNESS STANDARDS Another important bill passed into law will stop junk evidence from influencing court decisions. House Bill 153 was sponsored by Rep. Kevin Corlew, a Republican from Kansas City. It provides the same high standards for trial evidence that are currently required in federal courts and most other states. Called the Daubert standard, it ensures that only evidence deemed relevant, reliable and provided by qualified individuals will be admitted as expert testimony. REDUCING WORKERS’ COMPENSATION LIABILITY Another new law will correct two costly Missouri Supreme Court rulings that relate to the workers’ compensation system. Senate Bill 66, sponsored by Sen. Dave Schatz, a Republican from Sullivan, fixes the Supreme Court’s 2014 Templemire decision, raising the standard of proof in workers’ compensation discrimination suits. It also establishes a fair, logical endpoint for temporary workers’ compensation benefits. The bill will help safeguard the employer-funded workers’ compensation system from frivolous benefits claims and excessive litigation. “The outstanding work by the Missouri Chamber to unite the business community’s focus to push lawmakers on improving the legal climate in Missouri was truly remarkable. In particular, the passage of common-sense tort reforms will result in significant savings for Missouri businesses from the reduction and avoidance of frivolous employment litigation. It will save my own company millions of dollars annually, which will ultimately benefit all of our customers in Missouri. – John Sondag, President AT&T Missouri ” MOBIZMAGAZINE.COM 27