By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – Economic growth, particularly job growth, remains the top priority for the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association for the 2009 legislative session.
Dick Fleming, President and CEO of the St. Louis RCGA, hopes Governor Nixon and lawmakers will pursue policies to keep what works in place.
"The historic tax credits, the Brownfields, the Quality Jobs legislation...sustaining those and continuing to have resources with which to grow jobs in companies that are already here," Fleming said.
The Quality Jobs program was started by former Governor Matt Blunt. Participating companies agree to pay half the cost of health care coverage for their workers.
The RCGA also supports the Grow Me State Initiative, the goal of which is to spur small business growth by bringing advanced technology jobs to Missouri.
"If you look at the California's and the Massachusetts's and the Research Triangles in North Carolina, the most robust parts of their economy are these kinds of technology company start-ups," Fleming said.
Fleming also wants lawmakers to allocate more money for life sciences research.