1. What is the biggest issue you believe the state should consider when thinking about creating a state-operated health care program?

The cost to taxpayers 

Providing more health insurance coverage 

Covering the most vulnerable citizens 

Allowing for greater competition among health care providers 

2. What should be the biggest priority in addressing health care?

Increasing coverage through new government services 

Increasing coverage through private services 

Maintaining current levels 

Decreasing government services for health care and increasing access to private services 

Eliminating government services and switching solely to private sponsored health insurance. 

3. Do you believe Insure Missouri is a program worth pursuing?

Yes, it seems to make sense 

No, there seem to be several question marks

No opinion 

Transportation

Primary Seat Belt Law

Current Missouri law allows secondary enforcement of its mandatory seat belt law. That means a police officer can issue a ticket for not wearing a seat belt only if he or she has pulled over the driver for another offense. A driver cannot be pulled over solely for not wearing a seat belt.  Bills have been proposed in past legislative sessions to allow primary enforcement for seat belt violations. Supporters believe such a change would increase seat belt usage, reduce injuries, save lives and significantly lower costs stemming from traffic injuries and fatalities. Opponents argue the measure would be an unwarranted and massive expansion of police power, impose on personal liberty and could lead to racial profiling.

4. Should Missouri change the state’s seat belt law so that law enforcement officers have the power to pull over a driver solely for not wearing a seat belt?

Yes         No          No Opinion

Minimum Wage

In November 2006, Missouri voters approved Proposition B, which raised the minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $6.50 per hour. The measure also requires that the minimum wage be adjusted annually for changes in the cost of living. Many small businesses and restaurants in Missouri are concerned the annual cost of living increases will impose excessive financial burdens and ultimately reduce the number of minimum wage jobs.

5. Would you support eliminating the annual cost of living adjustment in the state’s minimum wage law?

Yes         No          No Opinion

Due to a drafting error, Proposition B inadvertently deleted provisions in the previous law that exempted certain workers from normal overtime pay rules. That change means firefighters and police officers who work more than 40 hours a week are now eligible for overtime. Many police and firefighters have schedules where they work 24-hour or 12-hour shifts, thus accumulating more than 40 hours in a week while nonetheless having several days off. This glitch, which police and firefighter groups support fixing, means communities around the state have been subject to substantial and unanticipated overtime costs.

6. Do you support fixing reinstating the state’s previous overtime rules to allow firefighters and police officers to work more than 40 hours in a week without triggering overtime pay?

Yes         No          No Opinion

Immigration

Because of a perception that the federal government has failed to implement effective immigration laws, many states are taking their own steps to address the issue. To date Missouri has authorized local law enforcement officials to enforce existing federal immigration laws and instructed the Department of Economic Development to conduct on-site inspections of all projects receiving state tax breaks to monitor the legal status of all workers on the job. Other state actions related to illegal immigration are being considered.

7. Should the Missouri General Assembly pass a law prohibiting state government social welfare agencies from paying non-emergency benefits to illegal aliens?

Yes         No          No Opinion

8. Do you believe the legislature should pass a law that would require Missouri businesses to participate in the Department of Homeland Security’s Basic Pilot Program to confirm the legal status of their employees?

Yes         No          No Opinion

 9. Are you in favor of legislation that would create penalties for Missouri businesses that hire illegal immigrants?

Yes         No          No Opinion

Property Taxes

Property taxes have become a heated issue in Missouri as many homeowners have seen escalating property values lead to an increased tax burden. A citizen task force was recently created to look into the issue and attempt to identify solutions. Several ideas have emerged.

10. Which of these solutions do you believe is the best?

Put a freeze on property tax levels once a homeowner has resided in a home for a certain number of years, essentially capping the property tax level. 

Shift the amount of local revenue that is generated from property taxes to an increase in sales taxes, essentially eliminating property taxes. 

Cap the amount property tax levels can increase each year to a level of 1 percent to 2 percent 

Maintain the current property tax structure. 

Education

Minimum teacher pay

Predictions indicate there is going to be a rise in the number of teachers needed to educate Missouri children. Currently, there are approximately 66,000 teachers in Missouri and a debate exists about whether they are underpaid, especially in rural areas.

11. Would you support an initiative to create a baseline salary for new teachers of approximately $30,000 if they have a college degree, regardless of experience or hiring district?

Yes         No          No Opinion

Merit-based pay

Missouri school districts have pay schedules based on education and years of experience called a “step-based system.” Some schools, however, are contemplating moving to a “merit-based system” where effectiveness is used as a measure for salary increases.

12. Do you believe a merit based system or step based system is more appropriate to determining teacher salaries?

Merit based Step based No opinion 

Term Limits

In 1992, Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting the number of years a legislator can serve in the Missouri General Assembly. Legislators can serve for a total of 16 years, with no more than eight years in either the House or Senate. Missouri term limits took effect for the 2002 elections.  

Studies indicate drawbacks to term limits include a decrease in valuable institutional knowledge, less civility and increased conflict and a weaker legislative branch that is less able to counter the expertise at the executive branch agencies. As a result, some believe legislative term limits need to be changed or abolished. Opponents of such changes believe the aforementioned claims are self-serving and that having steady turnover in the legislature ensures citizens are being represented with new ideas.

13. Should Missouri repeal legislative term limits?

Yes         No           No Opinion

AGRICULTURE

National Animal Identification System—State Participation

The federal National Animal Identification System requires anyone owning livestock to register their premises and their animals with the federal government. Animals will have to have a federal ID number and likely be bio-chipped. The initially voluntary requirements will eventually be mandatory. Advocates say NAIS will protect against disease outbreaks and threats of bio-terrorism. Opponents believe the cost of complying with the program will drive small livestock operations out of business. They also decry the requirements to track the movements of animals and believe having personal information registered in a federal database constitutes excessive government oversight. Legislation has been proposed prohibit the state Department of Agriculture from participating in NAIS unless the state legislature authorizes it to do so.

14. Should Missouri prohibit the Department of Agriculture from participating in the National Animal Identification System? 

Yes     No      No Opinion

DNR Permit Process

By certifying private engineers ahead of time, Missouri ’s Department of Natural Resources could significantly increase the speed of its permit process for new agriculture industries and agribusinesses. An engineer could sign off on a project while the department would maintain oversight, conducting spot checks and ultimately having veto authority. Supporters note the current permit process can take six months to a year, severely limiting opportunities for growth in Missouri ’s rural economy. Opponents fear the change would result in loss of oversight and would endanger the environment.

15. Should Missouri accelerate the DNR permit process by allowing new operations to be supervised by private engineers who have been pre-certified by the state?

Yes         No          No Opinion

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

Many Missouri counties have local health ordinances that prohibit large concentrated animal feeding operations. Advocates of local control say individual communities should decide whether to allow CAFOs, which often yield massive amounts of animal waste and foul odors. Corporate farming interests say Missouri should have a single statewide standard governing CAFOs instead of the current patchwork of local ordinances.

16. Should Missouri establish statewide regulations to rules on concentrated animal feeding operations, superseding local ordinances?  

Yes         No          No Opinion

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