THE EGGLESTON REPORT – HELPING HOME-BASED BUSINESSES
It’s no secret that government can sometimes get in the way of entrepreneurs trying to start or maintain a small business. Payroll taxes, licensing regulations, workers comp insurance, unemployment payments, zoning restrictions, and more can all be frustrating impediments to staying in business and providing for one’s family. So for the last several years, some bills filed in your Missouri legislature have focused on cutting the red tape that bogs down our small business owners. And this session, we passed HB1697 and HB1662.
HB1697 was written to help cottage food production, which, simply put, is selling food made at your home. Hundreds of Missourians make jellies, jams, cakes, pies, trail mixes, and a host of other foods in their home and sell them to the public to make a living. Until this year, it was illegal to make more than $50,000 a year in such a venture, and it was illegal to sell those foods over the internet. HB1697 removes the $50,000 cap. The bill also removes the prohibition of online sales as long as the customer buying the food is a Missourian.
The other bill with some help for fledgling businesses is HB1662. In some areas of our state there are laws that ban using part of your home for a business. One component of HB1662 prevents some of these restrictions. That legislation says that county, municipal, and township governments are prohibited from enacting a zoning ordinance or regulation that (1) prohibits mail order or telephone sales for home-based work; (2) prohibits service by appointment within the home or accessory structure; (3) prohibits or requires structural modifications to the home or accessory structure; (4) restricts the hours of operation for home-based work; (5) restricts storage or the use of equipment that does not produce effects outside the home; and (6) restricts or prohibits a particular occupation. Basically, it’s your home, and as long as you are not hurting anyone you should be able to do what you want with it.
Governor Parson has already signed the cottage food bill. It will go into effect August 28. He has yet to sign HB1662. He has until mid-July to decide whether to sign or veto it. As the owner of a small, home-based business myself, I understand what many new entrepreneurs and small business owners go through, and these two bills are designed to alleviate some red tape and foster more self-sufficiency in our state.
Until next time, best wishes of safety, health, and prosperity to you and your family.
PICTURES FROM THE DISTRICT
For the last 22 years, I am honored to have provided the TV service for our veterans living at the Cameron Missouri Veterans Home.
FROM THE CAPITOL NEWS DESK
Missouri Continues to See Strong Economic Activity
The state continues to receive encouraging economic news as revenue growth surges and the state’s unemployment rate remains well below the national rate.
The latest revenue numbers provided show a significant increase in collections for the month of May. Revenue collections for May 2022 increased 46.2 percent compared to those for May 2021. In total the state collected $1.78 billion in May compared to just $1.22 billion for the same period last year. The state’s year-to-date collections continue to be significantly higher than projections. For the current fiscal year, the state has collected a total of $11.41 billion. Last year at the same time the state had collected only $10.02 billion. That represents a 13.9 percent increase.
The state also continues to receive good news on the employment front. Missouri’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate decreased by three-tenths of a percentage point in May 2022, declining to 3.1 percent from the revised April 2022 rate of 3.4 percent. The May 2022 rate was 1.4 percentage points lower than the May 2021 rate. A year ago, the state’s seasonally adjusted rate was 4.5 percent. The estimated number of unemployed Missourians was 96,446 in May 2022, down by 7,159 from April’s 103,605.
The national unemployment rate remained unchanged over the month at 3.6 percent. Missouri’s unemployment rate has been at or below the national rate for the last five years.
The state’s not-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate did increase slightly in May 2022, rising by four-tenths of a percentage point to 2.8 percent from the April 2022 not-seasonally-adjusted rate of 2.4 percent. However, that figure is still significantly lower than it was a year ago when the not-seasonally-adjusted rate was 4.7 percent. Missouri also remains lower than the corresponding not-seasonally-adjusted national rate for May 2022 of 3.4 percent.
Missouri’s labor force participation rate was 63.3 percent in May 2022, which is 1.0 percentage point higher than the national rate of 62.3 percent. Missouri’s employment-population ratio was 61.3 percent in May 2022, which is 1.2 points higher than the national rate of 60.1 percent.
