Priorities
HELP US DETERMINE THE 2025 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITES
A survey to assist the priority committee to determine priorities, pertaining to the GNW Region, is now live and will remain open until 5 pm on November 18th. Click the following link or scan the QR code to begin. ➡️
GREAT NORTHWEST DAY LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES 2024
✓ INFRASTRUCTURE (including Broadband)
✓ EDUCATION
✓ WORKFORCE (including Childcare)
✓ COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT (including Housing)
The goal of the Great Northwest Day Priorities Committee is to present to our legislators and government officials a strong united message based on a broad circle of voices and research. The feedback is reviewed against the criteria of (1) legislative impact, (2) overarching regional impact, and (3) non-partisan perspective.
Legislative Priorities 2024
✓ INFRASTRUCTURE (including Broadband)
- Safe and reliable infrastructure is essential to the health and wealth of our region. Great Northwest Day encourages lawmakers to invest in our rural region’s roads, bridges, water, and wastewater projects – vital keys to the economic future of northwest Missouri. Broadband is currently one of the most critical components in attracting talent; without competitive internet speeds, our rural communities cannot attract new residents. Sufficient internet leads to prosperity, because of continued access to education, commerce, healthcare, precision agriculture, and much more. WHAT can be done to help:
- For infrastructure:
- Do not give responsibility for lettered highways to county commissioners for maintenance as county budgets are even tighter than state budgets.
- Support innovative funding efforts to expand high-quality replacement of outdated infrastructure assets.
- Establish a fund specifically for lettered highway routes.
- With the upcoming construction of Interstate 70, allocate additional resources to support and maintain Highway 36.
- Continue to provide aid to qualified, local internet providers deploying broadband access in unserved/underserved rural areas, while redefining the definition of underserved to be 100Mbps down and up.
- Improve broadband adoption efforts in rural households and closing the digital divide (Digital Equity).
- Continue to support/fund the Office of Broadband.
- Support the Office of Broadband’s efforts in implementing the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program in 2024.
- Support wireless broadband accessibility for important regional components including: agriculture, emergency responders, and outdoor recreational activities
✓ EDUCATION
Bills to watch
Infrastructure
Broadband
Education
Workforce
Childcare
HB1488
Community Improvement
HB 1803. SB 26
Housing
HB 2407, HB 2240
The future of our state and the Northwest Region depends on an educated, skilled workforce. Quality educational institutions are a top priority because they significantly contribute to the development of our next generation of citizens. Our region’s educational institutions vary from the ages they serve (preschool through postsecondary) to the training they provide (professional certificates to degrees). However, they all depend on your support to fulfill their mission. Collectively, we ask legislators to make increasingly larger investments in education and workforce development to build stronger communities and create improved employment opportunities.
- WHAT can be done to help:
- For Elementary and Secondary Education:
- Fully fund transportation formula as outlined by state law. (Gov. Parson Rec: addt’l $14M)
- Increase local autonomy of districts and boards of education.
- Reduce bureaucracy and unfunded administrative mandates.
- Continue supporting increases for PreK programs and PreK special education programs.
- Support teaching as a profession with assistance to increase teacher pay, reduce the teacher shortage, and preserve its public-school retirement system. (Gov. Parson Rec: addt’l $4M towards teacher pay. Base starting salary 40K)
- Seek and support an increase in core appropriations for each higher education institution to keep pace with inflationary costs. (Gov. Parson Rec: 3% core increase)
- Support opportunities to maximize state and federal funds for deferred maintenance needs on each public campus. (Gov. Parson Rec: $314.7M new funding)
- Support efforts to modernize energy resources.
- Support MOSERS cost containment as increasing costs are not sustainable for institutions.
- Seek continued inclusion and additional funding of MoExcels in the Governor’s budget plans.
- Support additional residency positions at existing graduate medical education (GME) medical residency programs. There is a noted shortage of physicians in our rural health care facilities, including the specialties of family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, general obstetrics, and gynecology (OB/Gyn), and general psychiatry.
✓ WORKFORCE (including Childcare)
One of the most challenging issues facing rural Missouri is a diminished workforce. Typically, rural labor markets have very low unemployment rates; however, they also suffer from lower-than-average labor force participation rates. For rural areas to thrive, there must be an emphasis placed on increasing labor force participation, as well as expanding the labor force (through marketing rural living). Focusing solely on labor force training does not adequately address the workforce needs of rural Missouri. Access to affordable childcare is a major workforce issue for our region and the State of Missouri. If parents do not have safe, reliable, affordable childcare, they are unable to work. Childcare is a fundamental Workforce and Economic Development issue.
- WHAT can be done to help:
- For Workforce:
- We need to prioritize efforts to increase the supply of people in our rural communities, such as: growing the population of the state, recruitment to Missouri (Rural Living marketing plan, career opportunities and great work-life balance), developing a talent pipeline focused on career opportunities (engaging our youth), and identifying barriers to work (Lack of skills, daycare, transportation, government).
- Create an incentive for employment. Create a personal tax credit/tax deduction for people entering the labor force and maintaining employment. Focus the program on cities and counties with below average labor force participation rates.
- Create an employment retention program where communities could create an Employment Incentive District (similar to the CID or NID process). An EID would provide funding for a locally controlled Employment Incentive Program, which could include employment retention grants, employment relocation grants and workforce housing down payment
- Simplify and streamline the application and licensing process for new childcare centers, the fingerprinting process, and the childcare enrollment forms.
- Support for the proposed childcare related tax credits. HB 1488 (Gov. Parson Rec: $51.7M)
✓ COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT (including Housing)
If rural areas are to retain and grow population, vibrant communities must be a focal point in redevelopment efforts.
- WHAT can be done to help:
- For Community Improvement:
- Support communities dealing with the effects of crime, addiction, homelessness, abandoned properties and community appearance. (Develop a fund for community demolition and/or rehabilitation resources to address abandoned or neglected properties)
- Support entrepreneurs & small business expansion resources (Ex: RPC’s, SBDC’s) for all our rural communities. HB 1803
- Legislation to protect 340B Non-Discrimination (CAH’s FQHC’s, SCH’s) legislation. SB 26
- Establish an Office for Rural Housing that would focus on the statewide evaluation of rural housing and research into best practices from other states.
- Support and expand of the low-income tax credits (with a 35% minimum to be spent in rural areas). Expand the Missouri Low Income Housing Tax Credits to include “workforce housing” projects that are rent to own or have an ownership plan.
- Create a fund for down payment assistance. (This could be funded through a reallocation of Missouri Works funds from businesses to their employees, if authorized by the business.)
- Create a tax break for employer contribution to a down payment fund for employees (like retirement and/or health insurance).
- Adopt a program like the Nebraska or Iowa Workforce Housing Tax Incentive Program under the Missouri Department of Economic Development. HB 2407, HB 2240
IMPACT
GNW Day has historically been instrumental in many efforts including:
- Increase in higher education funding
- Completion of four-lanes on highway 36 between Saint Joseph and Hannibal
- State funding being allocated to water projects that ensure citizens of GNW have safe water for all aspects of their lives