Senator Brad Lager, a Republican, is seeking to become Missouri's next State Treasurer. Lager has earned a reputation as a taxpayer watchdog during his time in Jefferson City. The Associated Press called him one of the legislature's "more fiscally-conservative members." Lager is in his first term as a State Senator after having previously served as the House Budget Chairman.
Brad is asking to be your next treasurer because he believes that every dollar of the taxpayers’ money that is spent and invested should be done so in a way that is in the best interest of the taxpayers.
As a small business owner, Brad makes sure that every dollar he spends is done so with a good reason. All too often, government creates barriers and roadblocks instead of fostering economic opportunities. Brad does not believe that is the way that government should work and it is time government becomes a partner in the process.
As the House Budget Chairman, Brad helped eliminate a billion dollar deficit and ushered in a new way in which our state spends money. For too long, Democrats simply spent money we didn’t have and then asked for tax increases we couldn’t afford. Brad fought to prioritize our expenses, not spending more than we took in, to stop spending money on reoccurring “one-time” expenses, and Brad worked to balance the budget without raising taxes on Missouri’s hard-working families.
We need better government not bigger government. We need a government that understands it needs to be reasonable, responsible, and accountable to the people who it serves. If you believe like Brad that the cornerstone of good government is fiscal restraint and responsible stewardship, then Brad is asking you to join him in this endeavor. Brad is asking for your help and asking for your support.
"I believe that Missourians need a fiscal watchdog in Jefferson City," said Lager. "I have successfully fought and changed the way we do business in Jefferson City. The State Treasurer's position is an opportunity to keep fighting for our fiscal values."
Senator Lager began his career in public service in 2001, when he was elected to the Maryville City Council. Brad served as the city's youngest city councilman ever.
From 2002 to 2006, Brad served as the 4th District Representative in the Missouri House of Representatives. During this time he served as vice-chair and then later as chair of the House Budget Committee. He also served on the House committees on Professional Registration and Licensing, Transportation and Motor Vehicles, Appropraitions for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Policy Development Committee, and the Legislative Research Oversight Committee.
"I know that my bosses do not live in Jefferson City," said Lager. "I want to make sure that every dollar that is spent in this state is invested wisely. We have a responsibility to taxpayers in this state."
As a member of the General Assembly, Brad was recognized as the 2004 Outstanding Legislator by the Missouri Athletic Trainers Association and was named Friend of Agriculture in 2004 and 2006 by the Missouri Farm Bureau. He has also received the Missouri Corn Growers Award, the Lewis and Clark Statesman Award, and the Missouri Community College Association Distinguished Legislator Award.
He and his wife, Stephanie, are members of St. Gregory's Catholic Church in Maryville. He also is a member of the Missouri Farm Bureau.
He graduated from Northeast Nodaway High School in 1993 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Management Systems from Northwest Missouri State University in 1997.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
Gov. Blunt's Lawsuit Reform Achieves Big Dividends
Governor Highlights Success of
2005 Lawsuit Reform Initiative
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Matt Blunt is highlighting the success of lawsuit reform legislation he fought to pass and signed in 2005 to address the medical care crisis brewing across the state before he was elected governor. The lawsuit reform legislation the governor championed and secured has significantly improved Missourians’ access to health care as well as the state’s business climate.
“The lawsuit reform we enacted in 2005 brought common sense and balance back to Missouri’s laws and improved access to health care for Missouri families,” Gov. Blunt said. “The significant and comprehensive reforms we enacted have leveled the playing field in Missouri courtrooms so that doctors and small business owners can go about creating jobs and opportunity without the paralyzing worry about the effects of a frivolous lawsuit or runaway personal injury award.”
Gov. Blunt noted that from 2005 to 2006, total claims against Missouri doctors dropped 61 percent. General surgeons, emergency room doctors, and OB-GYNs have all seen claims drop by greater than 70 percent since the governor signed the lawsuit reform.
Claim settlement costs have declined as well. From 2005 to 2006, the average settlement cost fell nearly 14 percent. The bottom-line is Missouri doctors, and the hospitals in which they work, now have more resources available to serve Missourians, resources that might otherwise have been exhausted on unnecessary insurance costs and extortionate payouts to personal injury lawyers. Now that money is freed to invest in health care, hire new doctors, and buy new equipment.
Gov. Blunt’s success enacting meaningful lawsuit reform is also, as anticipated, having a positive impact on Missouri’s legal climate. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s rating indicates Missouri is now moving in the right direction on best legal climates in the country, as the state moved from the 41st position in 2004 to the 34th position in 2007. Businesses examine these ratings when they are considering relocations and expansions.
Before the passage of comprehensive lawsuit reform, health care providers in Missouri were being hard hit by frivolous lawsuits and outrageous awards while personal injury lawyers were chasing doctors out of the state at the expense of patients in need of care. The legislation the governor signed created more equitable joint and several liability, restrictions on venue shopping and limits on punitive and non-economic damages.
Under the new law, joint and several liability applies only to defendants 51 percent or more at fault, in all cases. Joint and several liability is a theory of recovery that permits a plaintiff to recover damages from multiple defendants collectively, or from each defendant individually. Before the improvement a defendant who was just 1 percent liable could be forced to pay almost the entire settlement. In the area of venue shopping, the new Missouri law provides that where the plaintiff was injured in Missouri, actions may only be brought in the county where the action occurred or in the county where the plaintiff was injured.
The legislation also limits an award for punitive damages to the greater of $500,000 or five times the net amount of the judgment awarded to the plaintiff against the defendant. The limits are designed to stem the growth in both the frequency and size of punitive damage awards. The law limits an award for non-economic damages in medical liability cases to $350,000, irrespective of the number of defendants and there is no inflation adjustment on the cap. All economic damages are covered under the new law. Caps in the other states with limits range from $250,000 to $875,000.
Gov. Blunt praised the great success of lawsuit reform in Missouri but warned we must remain vigilant.
The governor noted that in 1995 Wisconsin placed caps on non-economic damages in medical cases but in 2005 unelected judges on the Wisconsin Supreme Court declared the caps unconstitutional in medical cases. In Illinois judges in Cook County declared damage caps in medical malpractice cases unconstitutional. Gov. Blunt pointed to examples in Wisconsin and Illinois as evidence that Missourians should continue to support legislative and executive leaders who understand that a Missouri courtroom should not be a place where personal injury lawyers force good doctors and businesses to leave the state.
2005 Lawsuit Reform Initiative
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. Matt Blunt is highlighting the success of lawsuit reform legislation he fought to pass and signed in 2005 to address the medical care crisis brewing across the state before he was elected governor. The lawsuit reform legislation the governor championed and secured has significantly improved Missourians’ access to health care as well as the state’s business climate.
“The lawsuit reform we enacted in 2005 brought common sense and balance back to Missouri’s laws and improved access to health care for Missouri families,” Gov. Blunt said. “The significant and comprehensive reforms we enacted have leveled the playing field in Missouri courtrooms so that doctors and small business owners can go about creating jobs and opportunity without the paralyzing worry about the effects of a frivolous lawsuit or runaway personal injury award.”
Gov. Blunt noted that from 2005 to 2006, total claims against Missouri doctors dropped 61 percent. General surgeons, emergency room doctors, and OB-GYNs have all seen claims drop by greater than 70 percent since the governor signed the lawsuit reform.
Claim settlement costs have declined as well. From 2005 to 2006, the average settlement cost fell nearly 14 percent. The bottom-line is Missouri doctors, and the hospitals in which they work, now have more resources available to serve Missourians, resources that might otherwise have been exhausted on unnecessary insurance costs and extortionate payouts to personal injury lawyers. Now that money is freed to invest in health care, hire new doctors, and buy new equipment.
Gov. Blunt’s success enacting meaningful lawsuit reform is also, as anticipated, having a positive impact on Missouri’s legal climate. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s rating indicates Missouri is now moving in the right direction on best legal climates in the country, as the state moved from the 41st position in 2004 to the 34th position in 2007. Businesses examine these ratings when they are considering relocations and expansions.
Before the passage of comprehensive lawsuit reform, health care providers in Missouri were being hard hit by frivolous lawsuits and outrageous awards while personal injury lawyers were chasing doctors out of the state at the expense of patients in need of care. The legislation the governor signed created more equitable joint and several liability, restrictions on venue shopping and limits on punitive and non-economic damages.
Under the new law, joint and several liability applies only to defendants 51 percent or more at fault, in all cases. Joint and several liability is a theory of recovery that permits a plaintiff to recover damages from multiple defendants collectively, or from each defendant individually. Before the improvement a defendant who was just 1 percent liable could be forced to pay almost the entire settlement. In the area of venue shopping, the new Missouri law provides that where the plaintiff was injured in Missouri, actions may only be brought in the county where the action occurred or in the county where the plaintiff was injured.
The legislation also limits an award for punitive damages to the greater of $500,000 or five times the net amount of the judgment awarded to the plaintiff against the defendant. The limits are designed to stem the growth in both the frequency and size of punitive damage awards. The law limits an award for non-economic damages in medical liability cases to $350,000, irrespective of the number of defendants and there is no inflation adjustment on the cap. All economic damages are covered under the new law. Caps in the other states with limits range from $250,000 to $875,000.
Gov. Blunt praised the great success of lawsuit reform in Missouri but warned we must remain vigilant.
The governor noted that in 1995 Wisconsin placed caps on non-economic damages in medical cases but in 2005 unelected judges on the Wisconsin Supreme Court declared the caps unconstitutional in medical cases. In Illinois judges in Cook County declared damage caps in medical malpractice cases unconstitutional. Gov. Blunt pointed to examples in Wisconsin and Illinois as evidence that Missourians should continue to support legislative and executive leaders who understand that a Missouri courtroom should not be a place where personal injury lawyers force good doctors and businesses to leave the state.
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