Sen. Mike Kehoe has advanced a bill (SB 673) that
could have a very positive effect on the future of the unemployment trust fund
in Missouri.
“Our trust fund has been broke for the last
several years and the state has been forced to borrow money from the federal
government,” said Brad Jones, state director of NFIB/Missouri.
An assessment has been levied on a per employee basis to pay the
feds back, Jones said. “These assessments are hitting small business owners in the pocket
book and will continue to do so until the fund is once again solvent,” he said. According to the Department of Labor, Missouri could pay off
its existing $320 million dollar debt by the end of the year due to our lower
unemployment rate.
Senator Kehoe’s bill would do two things. It would allow the
state to bond the $320 million thus getting the feds off our back. It would
also tie the number of weeks of unemployment to the unemployment rate.
So, if
unemployment is high, more weeks are available. Senator Kehoe has put a sliding
scale in the bill. SB 673 has one more vote in the Senate before it goes to the
House.
PHOTO: KTrimble/Wikipedia