Missouri House Bill 722 (2015)
| Missouri House Bill 722 | |
 | |
| Legislature: | Missouri State Legislature |
| Text: | HB 722 |
| Sponsor(s): | Rep. Dan Shaul (R-113) |
| Legislative history | |
| Introduced: | January 28, 2015 |
| State house: | March 19, 2015 |
| State senate: | May 5, 2015 |
| Governor: | Gov. Jay Nixon (D) |
| Vetoed: | July 10, 2015 |
| Legal environment | |
| State law: | Local ballot measures |
| Code: | Missouri Revised State Statutes |
| Section: | Chapters 260 and 285 |
Missouri House Bill 722, which prohibited local laws increasing the minimum wage or imposing bans or fees on paper and plastic bags, was introduced by Rep. Dan Shaul (R-113) on January 28, 2015. It was approved in the Missouri House of Representatives on March 19, 2015. In the Missouri State Senate, the bill was approved on May 5, 2015. Gov. Jay Nixon (D) vetoed the bill on July 10, 2015, but the legislature overturned the veto, with the house and the senate voting in favor of HB 722 114-46 and 23-9, respectively, on September 16, 2015.[1][2]
This law was an important element behind the removal by the Kansas City attorney of two minimum-wage related ballot items from the Kansas City ballot for the election on November 3, 2015.
Provisions
House Bill 722 prohibited local government entities from raising the minimum wage or minimum employment benefits within their boundaries to a level above the state-imposed minimum wage and state-required employment benefits. In 2015, the state-set minimum wage was $7.65 per hour. HB 722 also prohibited local government entities from banning or imposing taxes or fees on the use of plastic or paper bags at stores.
Bill text
An excerpt of the text of the bill is below:[3]
| “ |
260.283. 1. All merchants, itinerant vendors, and peddlers doing business in this state shall have the option to provide customers either a paper or a plastic bag for the packaging of any item or good purchased, provided such purchase is of a size and manner commensurate with the use of paper and plastic bags. 2. Notwithstanding any other provision oflaw, no political subdivision shall impose any ban, fee, or tax upon the use of either paper or plastic bags for packaging of any item or good purchased from a merchant, itinerant vendor, or peddler. No political subdivision shall prohibit a consumer from using a reusable bag for the packaging of any item or good purchased from a merchant, itinerant vendor, or peddler. [...] 2. No political subdivision shall establish, mandate, or otherwise require an
employer to provide to an employee: |
” |
Supporters and sponsors
Rep. Dan Shaul (R-113), the sponsor of the bill, and other supporters argued that having a uniform minimum wage and uniform rules governing plastic bags and paper bags would prevent a complicated variance in laws governing business. They also argued that having the minimum wage higher in some areas than in others would create pockets of job market inequality and would harm the economy in certain areas and overall.
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry approved of HB 722 and opposed Governor Nixon's veto. Karen Buschmann, the vice president of communications for the chamber, said, "The veto gives municipalities the ability to override state law and create a patchwork of complicated wage standards. It will make it difficult for Missouri employers to comply to a thousand different standards."[5]
Rep. Caleb Rowden (R-44) supported HB 722. Concerning mandatory business practices and policies, he argued, "Some of these policies are OK and certainly can happen at the local level, but when it comes to broad, far-reaching business practices, these conversations can and should happen at the state level." He said HB 722 was less of a "local control" law and more about "very needed clarification of where certain decisions need to happen."[6]
Opposition
Gov. Jay Nixon (D) and other opponents of HB 722 argued that it amounted to the state intruding on local control and removing decision-making rights from community members and local residents.[6]
Rep. Jon Carpenter (D-15) agreed with Nixon. He argued, "I think it's pretty clear if the United States Congress was going to pass a bill that does exactly what this bill does to local political subdivisions in this state, regarding this exact issue on the minimum wage, people would be outraged. And not just the people in here, the people of Missouri, who overwhelmingly passed a higher minimum wage than the federal, would be outraged." [6]
Governor's veto
Gov. Jay Nixon (D) vetoed HB 722, but his veto was overridden by the legislature. In his veto statement, Nixon said:
| “ |
House Bill 722 is a clear example of unwarranted government intrusion – in this case, interference with the policymaking of local governments and the abandonment of the principle of local control. Local voters ought to have the right to decide these issues. Just as there should be an appropriate allocation of responsibilities between federal and state governments, so too should the precept of local control apply to the relationship between state and local governments. The power grab embodied by House Bill 722 clearly violates that principle.”[4] |
” |
| —Gov. Jay Nixon (D)[7] | ||
Related articles
- Kansas City, Missouri, $15 per hour Minimum Wage Initiative Measure (November 2015)
- Kansas City, Missouri, Minimum Wage Increase Veto Referendum (November 2015)
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Open States, "Missouri House Bill 722 (2015)," accessed September 14, 2015
- ↑ KMBZ, "Kansas City to scrap minimum wage," September 17, 2015
- ↑ Missouri Legislature, "House Bill 722," accessed December 17, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ KOMU, "Mid-Missouri organizations and residents react to HB 722 veto," July 10, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 St. Louis Public Radio, "Legislature says Missouri cities can't ban plastic bags or set 'living wage,'" May 6, 2015
- ↑ Office of Missouri Governor, "Gov. Nixon vetoes bill taking away local control from Missouri communities," July 10, 2015
