In our view: Agreeing on changes

As much as we call out legislators who we think do the wrong thing, we should also point out cases where we believe they get it right. In the case of a bill changing how the state manages its investments, we'd like to point out every single representative and senator.

The Invest in Missouri bill didn't receive a single "no" vote throughout its trip through the Legislature. Earlier this week, the House approved the final version of the bill and sent it to the governor's desk with a 155-0 vote. The House has 163 members, so eight didn't cast votes.

But getting that amount of support on this bill shows that legislators are capable of looking past party lines. It also shows that the bill is a good idea, and should be signed into law by Gov. Jay Nixon. Scott Holste, spokesperson for Nixon, said Thursday that the governor's signature on the bill is likely.

Proposed by Treasurer Clint Zweifel, the plan eliminates a cap on interest-rate return. Currently, Missouri can invest taxpayer money under the terms of its cap, thus guaranteeing less-than-desirable earnings.

Once the cap is removed, Missouri would have a better option for investing taxpayer dollars and get a much better rate of return than the U.S. Treasury's rate of about 0.2 percent.

Another part of the bill would expand the Missouri Linked Deposit program by making more funds available to entrepreneurs seeking to create or expand businesses. In short, the bill creates jobs without spending an extra dollar of taxpayer money.

Our only gripe with the bill was that it appeared smaller banks and credit unions might not be able to participate. That has since been corrected.

In these end-of-session days, where political disagreements threaten to hamper solutions and derail progress according to party lines, it's good to see that some things can be universally agreed upon.

###