Sen. Bernskoetter expresses why family is the key motivator behind his legislative decisions. 

My desire to fight for the future of my children and grandchildren motivates my work and gives me the support and strength I need to work for my community day in and day out at the Missouri Capitol. I weigh the decisions I must make through the prism of what impact they will have, and I have lived my life making Missouri families the central guiding force behind those decisions. I always remember that the actions we take, the votes we make, and the bills we file in the legislature have a direct effect on families. There are several pieces of legislation I have worked on over my career that I believe will help them for generations to come. 

One of my biggest enactments so far has been protecting the future of farmers. As a farm owner, I want my grandchildren to have the opportunity to raise livestock and farm their land while knowing they have the stability they need if they choose to take that path. During my service in the Missouri House of Representatives, we added the Right to Farm amendment to the Missouri State Constitution in 2014. The amendment protects current and future generations of farmers from new laws that would change current farm practices and from groups and organizations that seek to destroy the farming way of life. Then, in 2015, we created a closer relationship between farmers and families by passing Senate Bill 701 to develop the Missouri Farm to School program. This program helps connect farmers and ranchers to schools in order to serve students and children with locally sourced products for meals and snacks. 

Most recently, during my career in the Missouri Senate, we helped support early childhood education in the 2022 budget by appropriating $450 million to the Missouri Office of Childhood, which concentrates on early education and access to quality childcare. That summer, House Bill 3020 was also passed. This bill allocated $3.5 million to the Special Learning Center expansion, which will double or triple the school’s enrollment capacity for special needs children.

In the same year, we helped lower the tax burden on Missourians as another crucial way to support families. Inflation has hurt many families; and, in my opinion, the government is taking too much money. Lowering the tax burden has been key to helping working Missouri families survive in these troubling economic times. I was honored to be a part of Missouri’s largest tax cut in history as Senate Bills 3 and 5 helped reduce income tax rates from 5.2% to 4.95%, resulting in the majority of Missourians seeing roughly a 5% decrease in their tax liability. 

While there are many issues brought to the floor each year, the future for Missouri families is what we all should be thinking of when we make our decisions. It is our responsibility as state leaders to think through the benefits legislation can bring to families and how these bills will affect their futures. Without these beneficial changes, the long nights and even longer days that I serve in the Missouri Senate would be without purpose. The reason I am in Jefferson City is to work toward a better tomorrow for both my family and the families of my constituents. 

Sen. Mike Bernskoetter took office in 2019, serving the 6th Senatorial District. Before being elected to the Missouri Senate, he served as a representative for the 59th District in the Missouri House of Representatives.