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The joy of
American democracy is that the governed not only consent. The governed
contribute: ideas, agendas, policies.
That’s the focus of Forward Metro St. Louis and the RCGA Public
Policy Council.
Craig Schnuck of Schnuck Markets chaired Forward Metro St. Louis
through August. Since August, David Kemper of Commerce Bancshares
has chaired the coalition.
Scott Schnuck of Schnuck Markets is the vice chair of Public Policy
on the RCGA Board of Directors, and leads the RCGA’s overall activities
in public policy. The Public Policy Council, chaired in 2003 by
Steve Hoven, corporate vice president of public affairs for SSM
Health Care in St. Louis, develops a legislative program for review
and approval by the RCGA Board.
The Forward Metro St. Louis coalition consists of the RCGA, Civic
Progress, Regional Business Council, Partners for Progress and Leadership
Council Southwestern Illinois. It’s the united voice of the business
community that speaks to and about government for the betterment
of the region which focuses annually on three to four overarching
regionwide issues.
Among Forward Metro St. Louis’s 25 business community members, Doug
Yaeger of the Laclede Group leads the RCGA delegation. Kemper also
leads the Civic Progress representation. Jim Murphy of the Murphy
Company leads the middle market Regional Business Council’s representation.
Paul McKee of McEagle Properties leads St. Charles County’s Partners
for Progress. Bruce Holland of Holland Construction Services leads
the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois delegation.
Established in 2000 as one of the eight long term initiatives by
the RCGA board, Forward Metro St. Louis advances the region’s agenda
guided by four principles designed to improve the region’s quality
of life, diversity and economic competitiveness. Though it’s comprised
of several organizations, Forward Metro St. Louis is single-minded
about what’s best for the region and the businesses in it in terms
of economic development.
The first principle is “fostering regional cooperation.” A new Mississippi
River Bridge to relieve congestion and improve the flow of people,
goods and services is the physical realization of this principle.
The RCGA’s Mississippi River Bridge Task Force is actively working
with the bi-state Congressional delegation regarding funding. The
task force has made frequent trips to Capitol Hill to lobby for
the necessary federal funds for the new bridge at downtown St. Louis.
In fact, thanks to efforts by Missouri Senator Kit Bond, the Senate
Environment and Public Works Committee approved a new six year transportation
bill providing an additional $1.4 billion in new federal dollars
for roads, bridges and highways in the State of Missouri. The additional
$1.4 billion over six years—some $233 million per year in new federal
dollars—will be a real shot in the arm to Missouri’s economy. In
addition, $50 million in dedicated funding is included in the bill
for the new Mississippi River bridge, which has been designated
as a “federal priority.” The Committee’s action is a giant step
forward in the legislative process of the full Congress ultimately
passing a new federal transportation bill, which is anticipated
in 2004.
Also in the realm of transportation, Barry Beracha of BBI Group
Inc., and Bob Reynolds, of Graybar Electric, co-chaired a regional
transportation summit held at the Regional Collaboration Center
this past summer.
The RCGA has staffed the Business Task Force on Lambert International
Airport, composed of 17 board members of RCGA, Civic Progress and
the RBC. The Task Force was constituted at the request of St. Louis
Mayor Francis Slay to examine how Lambert remains competitive in
view of American Airlines’ decision and the changing landscape of
the airline industry.
Forward Metro St. Louis’ second principle is “restoring government
accountability and fiscal stability.” This coalition advocates a
thorough examination of government resources to make sure the public
is getting an acceptable return on its investment.
Forward Metro St. Louis, along with allies in Kansas City and Springfield,
commissioned Jim Moody, the former commissioner of administration
and the state budget director under John Ashcroft, to analyze the
structural forces creating the Missouri budget deficit.
Moody’s report looked at K–12 education, Medicaid, corrections and
tax credits. As a follow up to the “Moody Report”, Bob Baer, chairman-emeritus
of UniGroup, convened a statewide task force of business organizations
to study the budget. This task force developed recommendations regarding
budgeting and accountability, and will use them in discussions with
State elected leaders this coming year.
Creating a positive, proactive environment for job creation is Forward
Metro St. Louis’ third principle. This goal depends on removing
limiting legal and regulatory barriers to business growth, as well
as investing in the emerging industries of advanced manufacturing,
plant and life sciences and information technology. It also promotes
preserving and creating economic development tools that generate
positive returns on investment, like tax credits.
RCGA and Forward Metro St. Louis strongly supported tort reform
and changes to the workers’ compensation system when they visited
Jefferson City early in January. Tort reform legislation was vetoed;
workers’ comp stalled in the Senate. Both will be back on the front
burner in 2004.
In advancing the principle of “pursuing policies directed to job
creation and economic growth,” Forward Metro St. Louis and RCGA
have both successfully supported retention of key economic development
tools, such as the Historic Preservation and Brownfields Tax Credits,
and the BUILD Missouri programs. For example, research analysis
has shown the Historic Preservation Tax Credit, provides more than
a 2-to-1 return on investment in terms of State and local taxes
generated.
The fourth principle is “achieving equity for the St. Louis region.”
The entire State benefits from investments in the region, since
it’s the economic engine for Missouri, providing half of the State’s
business payroll, nearly half of total wages, more than two-fifths
of employment and more than one-third of the population. The big
issue for us is how the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission
distributes transportation funding. Craig Schnuck, the late Buzz
Westfall, Francis Slay and Joe Ortwerth tirelessly led the effort
to make sure the region got its fair share of highway funding. And
St. Louis area Highway Commissioners Bill McKenna and Marge Schram
worked with the region’s delegation to alter the original recommendation
made by MoDOT staff that lessened the negative impact of the Commission’s
decision.
In 2004, the principles and the issues—the new bridge and the Lambert
International—will remain similar to 2003.
Beyond policies that advance the principles of Forward St. Louis,
the RCGA also endorses specific legislative priorities in Missouri
and Illinois and at the federal level that promote economic development
in the bi-state region.
For example, to further fulfill the region’s potential as the BioBelt:
The Center of Plant and Life Sciences, the RCGA board supports incentives
for venture capital funding, expansion of research and development
and seed-capital tax credits, and funding for state-of-the-art wet-lab
facilities.
In Illinois, the RCGA board supports vital infrastructure improvements
to sustain growth in southwestern Illinois, such as reopening the
McKinley Bridge and funding the Illinois Route 13 outer belt. In
addition, the RCGA and the Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois
are working to keep Scott Air Force Base in the region.
We are pushing for a restoration of the research and development
tax credits, increased funding for the Brownfield Site Restoration
program, and for added incentives to strengthen emerging biotechnology
and information technology companies in Illinois.
In addition in Illinois, we are pushing for legislation that establishes
a balanced approach towards regulating and developing wetlands,
as well as changes in the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund to eliminate
the fund deficit without damaging job and economic growth in Illinois.
Perhaps the biggest public policy story in 2003 was the $17 million
assistance package developed by state and local governments that
helped persuade Ford Motor Company to extend the operation of its
Hazelwood Plant at least through 2007 and to invest $100 million
in the plant.
“The governor appointed Chuck Mueller of Ameren to chair the Ford
Task Force,” said RCGA Public Policy Council headman Hoven. “And
we were all very proud of the remarkable effort led by the former
chairman of the RCGA board.”
While Mueller’s was a separate entity, Hoven noted that the RCGA
Public Policy Council “supported and helped revive the Missouri
BUILD Program, one of the instrumental components in the Ford assistance
package.”
The Public Policy Council’s work was guided by six RCGA initiatives:
- Regional
economic growth and vitality
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Region-wide infrastructure
-
Distinctive industry clusters
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Workforce enhancement
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Revitalization of the region’s center city
-
Business climate
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“The Public
Policy Council works on a broader field than Forward Metro St. Louis,”
noted Hoven, who is a member of both. “The council agenda includes
upwards of 50 issues.”
He limited his discussion to a handful of highlights.
“One of the issues that rose to the top was to push for a portion
of the tobacco settlement money to be earmarked specifically for
the expansion of plant and life science research and capacity,”
he said. “Speaker Catherine Hanaway led the charge to earmark 25
percent of the settlement for just that. It’s a good win, and it’ll
boost regional prosperity.”
The RCGA also took a strong stand in defense of Historic Preservation
Tax Credits, Hoven said, “because it provides benefits throughout
the state, preserving old buildings and putting them back into use.
That generates significant new income for the state, both directly
and indirectly—not to mention the new dollars from added jobs. Many
of the new hotels in St. Louis have been feasible because of these:
the Chase Park Plaza, Renaissance Grand, Drury Inn and the Westin
Hotel at Cupples Station all were supported by both Historic Preservation
and Brownfield Redevelopment tax credits.
“These tax credits are a perennial issue,” Hoven said, “We were
pleased with the outcome in 2003 and we expect that we’ll have to
play good defense on this again next year.”
Because of budget challenges, RCGA Chairman Doug Yaeger said, “It
was a tough year. It will be again next year. Our mission is to
advocate responsible support for specific programs—health care,
public safety, education—and developing and funding responsible
policy.”
Hoven summed up both 2003 and 2004: “There may be disagreements
on how to solve the state budget deficit, but we try to focus both
sides on cutting fat, and not muscle.”
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