Invest in Missouri bills head to governor

St. Louis Business Journal - by Christopher Tritto

Bills that would reform both Missouri's linked-deposit program and the interest rate the state collects on general time deposits at community banks are heading to Gov. Jay Nixon's desk for signature into law after being passed unanimously in both the state House and Senate. The legislation, known as Invest in Missouri, has been spearheaded by Treasurer Clint Zweifel since February.

Invest in Missouri could make more money available for loans to Missouri businesses and generate better investment returns on taxpayer dollars.

State law currently caps the rate of return on general time deposits to match the U.S. Treasury yield, which has recently been as low as 0.2 percent. The old statute gave community banks access to cheap money but also encouraged the treasurer to make deposits outside Missouri to reap better rates of return.

Zweifel pushed for the legislation to remove that cap and get taxpayers about $10 million more a year. It would also encourage the treasurer to deposit more money in community banks, providing them with greater liquidity, he said.

Rep. Tim Flook, R-Liberty, sponsored the bill in the House. Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, sponsored an identical bill in the Senate.

"A second passage of Invest in Missouri shows the legislature's commitment to improving the Missouri Linked Deposit Program and the way we invest state tax dollars," Treasurer Zweifel said Tuesday after the Senate passed the bill 30-0 one week after the House passed it 155-0. "Rep. Flook and Sen. Pearce handled this legislation in a bipartisan fashion. They worked hard with Democrats and Republicans to improve our economy."

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