Don't let the State of Missouri waste your taxes by creating unsafe environments to help rich corporations. Help us support small, family owned businesses by signing this petition.  Signing this petition Will tell MO state government to end the expansion of red tape against small businesses and end corporate greed! 

Every small business deserves the right to operate without statewide government control. Help us keep our local license in place. No one should have to traverse the state of Missouri for a statewide license! 

Senate Bill  559 and House Bill 1891 seeks to establish a statewide mechanical contractor license in the State of Missouri, OVERRIDING LOCAL LICENSURE throughout the state.

Individual and apprentice licensure are fundamental to develop the next generations of skilled mechanical tradespeople in Missouri and the ability of municipalities to establish and require licensure which best serves the interests and well-being of residents.

The State of Missouri is seeking to limit local jurisdictional control of safety and wellbeing to benefit large business and rich owners. 

Missouri should not be subsidizing local city home rule with taxpayer funds by creating a new office in the state and hiring an entire office of bureaucrats to control local government. 

Missouri will use taxpayer funds to take over licensing in areas like St. Louis which already pays for their licensing program. Missouri will need to use all statewide taxes to create and staff an entirely new office, when local jurisdictions have already agreed to pay for and administer their own programs. 

Individual licensure ensures that each and every tradesperson performing work for residents and businesses have met industry standard qualifications for classroom education and on-the-job training, demonstrate competency on the codes and ordinances - which may be unique to the municipality - and receive adequate continuing education to remain current on trade specifics.

In contrast, contractor-only licensure, as proposed in SB 559 and HB 1891, strips municipalities of autonomy, requiring the acceptance that only one individual in an organization, regardless of size or complexity, is required to obtain a mechanical license – regardless of the needs and desires of those municipalities and residents.

Apprentice licensure ensures development of the next generation of highly-skilled, qualified, and capable tradespeople, reducing turnover and recruitment costs, increasing productivity, and lowering barriers of entry into the mechanical trade; established requirements for apprenticeship via licensure provide a clear avenue for adequate development within the field in the same way an accredited curriculum does in higher learning. SB 559 and HB 1891 neither retains nor provides any licensure for apprentices

The types of work encompassed in SB 559 and HB 1891 have significant safety implications for Missourians: improper and inadequate mechanical installations present risks for consumers, including gas leaks, carbon monoxide poisoning, and fires; mechanical installations are an integrated component of an engineered package, with minimum requirements and performance established by code and ordinance, and it is requisite that the tradesperson performing the work is competent in all areas – component, service and installation, and governance – requiring only a single licensee employed by an organization of any size on a job of any complexity cannot adequately ensure these standards are met.