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RCGA'S PUBLIC POLICY COUNCIL:
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Striving to Ensure You Can Get There From Here
By Bill Beggs Jr.
Nothing changes if nothing changes. Some changes, however, seem to take forever. Take the local road project that’s added 10 minutes to your commute… when are they ever gonna get the thing done? Once they do, of course, and you start arriving at work 10 minutes
earlier, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it.
 Leann Chilton, director of government relations, BJC HealthCare |
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Much planning, haggling, argument—some prayer, if not at least some crossed fingers—went into that road project. Some parties weren’t enthusiastic: The church that lost a 12-foot strip of property, residents who lamented the loss of trees, businesses whose access was adversely affected, and so on.
To many an outside observer the wheels of government seem to turn ever so slowly, whether at the local, regional, state or national level.
The hypothetical road project is a microcosm of the larger, regional issues on the legislative agenda of the RCGA’s Public Policy Council, made up of roughly 60 men and women from businesses and organizations throughout the region. Many members and organizations are government affairs executives. It’s fair to say they are passionate about the bi-state region and how it fares vis-à-vis other major metropolitan areas. And each has a firm commitment to their particular employer and to the business sector of which it is a part, but most importantly to the contributions he or she can make for the good of the region.
Given the roles they have been called upon to play for their companies in the halls of government locally, whether city halls or county buildings, or in Jefferson City, Springfield and Washington D.C., these are not timid people. But on some issues, powerful personalities must agree to disagree.
| Steve Hoven, corporate vice president
of public affairs, SSM Healthcare |
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“It can be a spirited debate—but they leave it on the field,” notes Tom Irwin, the RCGA’s senior vice president for public policy.
Whether an executive serves BJC HealthCare or Enterprise Rent-a-Car, each is committed to reaching consensus on the various regional issues they tackle, from environmental to infrastructure issues. Tightening the focus, this ranges from tort reform to major highway projects. Zooming in even more, it may include lobbying for more equitable funding for the University of Missouri–St. Louis or area K-12 schools, to working tirelessly to ensure Scott Air Force Base continues to thrive—and stay open.
A concept any member of the Public Policy Council might embrace, if not actually stick on the bumper, is: Think globally—act locally.
Council members also fully understand that taking the long view can take a long time. Tort reform is one of those issues that, for those dedicated to reducing the volume of what many perceive to be frivolous lawsuits, seems to go on and on.
Litigation reform, to use the term that one Council member prefers, falls into the “so close… yet so far” category. Gov. Bob Holden vetoed a bill passed by the Legislature on tort reform in May; an override failed. In 2003, a similar bill met the same fate.
Certainly, not all issues have such vociferous opponents and proponents, and few are as politically charged. But the Council doesn’t get sucked into such maelstroms, irrespective of members’ individual views. The long-term economic well-being of the bi-state region is the litmus test for each issue.
“We want to be able to have a voice individually, and collectively, to carry the same message,” says Leann Chilton, director of government relations for BJC HealthCare. Notably, recent Council successes—protecting Historic Preservation Tax Credits, for example—didn’t happen overnight. Air quality improvement is a region-wide challenge involving local and regional jurisdictions, industry representatives and the federal EPA.
“These are not one-year fixes,” Chilton points out.
The key word for the Council is consensus. A united front is necessary to developing an agenda that the RCGA board of
directors will approve. Most importantly, it must be doable.
“There’s enough work out there that we can only focus on priorities,” says Mark Johnston, government affairs counsel for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri. “We try to set priorities based on political feasibility. Everything needs a political reality check.
“We don’t waste our energy tilting at windmills—we look for real wind.”
Johnston emphasizes that no one would benefit were industry-to-industry tiffs to spill over into Council meetings—typically twice monthly while the Missouri and Illinois legislatures are in session—and that members “must be politically tone-deaf on issues.”
Not to mention patient. Several items that have yet to receive the governmental stamp of approval didn’t clear the last few legislative sessions, won’t make it through this session, the next, or the one after that… ad nauseam. Kind of like the Brooklyn Dodgers (or, ouch, the Cardinals), if an agenda issue doesn’t make it this go-round—“Wait till next year.”
Steve Hoven, corporate vice president of public affairs for SSM Healthcare, has chaired the Council for the past three years, previously serving as vice-chair. (Tom Barta, executive vice president of Fred Weber Inc., will succeed Hoven as chair this spring.) Having been involved with the Council in one capacity or another since 1980, Hoven is well acquainted with the ins and outs of legislative affairs, not to mention its ups and downs.
“Some issues remain on our plate for many years, waiting for the right political climate,” says Hoven.
When fresh faces appear at the statehouses and on Capitol Hill every two or four years, issues that have languished for some time may attract new attention and gain momentum. The regular changing of the guard typically doesn’t add or subtract items from the RCGA’s legislative agenda, although it may necessitate shifting priorities somewhat.
“That’s not going to change the agenda—it may change the result,” notes Irwin. “This is a bottoms-up process, which is encouraged.”
Say any one of scores of dues-paying small-business members concerned about tort reform contacts the RCGA. In essence, he or she is treated with the same level of care as would the executive for a multinational corporation. But the small-business owner has neither the time nor the money to engage in the debate personally in the state capital, or maybe even to follow it.
“He doesn’t see the tidal wave,” Irwin says. “He doesn’t even see the sand getting wet.”
Of course, money talk is common at the Council table, not so much about seeking additional funds as discussing how to ensure regional entities receive a fair slice of the pies that exist. Finances are key to every important issue, whether education, healthcare or transportation.
Local levy structures vary widely statewide, Hoven points out, adding that property appraisal methods need to be carefully reconsidered. Assessors are elected in rural areas, whereas in urban areas, by and large, they are appointed. In rural areas, “property values are often underestimated,” Hoven says, and less tax revenue is generated for education.
The same dynamic applies to healthcare. Medicaid funding must be preserved, he says, and the Council will continue to advocate toward that end.
“When you reduce it, you shift it to business,” Hoven says. “Businesses can’t shoulder more now; they’re doing all they can to insure their employees.”
| Mark Johnston, government affairs counsel, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri |
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“Fairness and equity,” Hoven emphasizes, the crux of the argument for education and healthcare funding, must also be top of mind for legislators in deciding how to generate and allocate monies for infrastructure. “We need to move forward with a new financial structure,” says Hoven.
For instance, were the percentage of tax monies collected per gallon of gas to be increased from 17 percent, the Highway 40/I-64 reconstruction in St. Louis could come to fruition much sooner.
It will happen. Not all that long ago, naysayers pooh-poohed the possibility of a light-rail system for the region. Today, few would disagree that MetroLink, already state-of-the-art, is on track to becoming one of the nation’s best.
It’s just that infrastructure projects, whether light rail, highways, bridges–or the road widening that messed up your commute for just a few months, not forever–never seem to be completed as efficiently or cost-effectively as some would hope.
The process may seem slow for agenda items related to environment, healthcare or education—but infrastructure improvements (or the seeming lack thereof) are right there for everyone to grouse about on a daily basis.
Council member and former chair Ray Wagner, in charge of government and legislative affairs for Enterprise Rent-a-Car, knows quite well when to lobby hard, and when to leave well enough alone. Some issues evolve into legislation that is enacted relatively quickly, with a minimum of
disagreement. It may be years before
consensus is reached on others, if ever. Then there are those that have to be pretty much left alone—an acorn will become a mighty oak, the Mississippi will flow south, without anyone’s help.
Our region has been fortunate to have a strong presence in Congress, Wagner points out. In his role as chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee, U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond has been “a great champion.”
“Once you get the approval, it’s still years off,” says Wagner. “But the payoff is well worth the wait.
“All roads lead to economic development and a vibrant region.” |
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