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E. Akin Projects, State of Missouri, 1988-2000
From 1988 to 2000, Todd demonstrated his courage, leadership, and integrity in the MO Legislature. He repeatedly fought the then liberal Governor, opposed the influence of powerful special interest groups, and challenged "political correctness."
Fought the Biggest Tax Hike in State History: In 1993 Governor Carnahan rammed home the biggest tax hike in state history and broke his campaign promise by denying Missouri taxpayers a public vote. SB 380 also destroyed the local control of our schools and froze state funding for many of our schools. Most Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, but Todd went the next step, he raised funds and challenged SB 380 in Akin v Lohman. The State Supreme Court struck down some of the bill but unfortunately left the tax increase.
Repealed the State Sales Tax on Food: As the "Ranking Republican" member on the House Ways and Means Committee, Todd helped design strategy to force the repeal of the state sales tax on food.
Defeated Casinos in "Boats-in-Moats" Lawsuit: Several years ago, various casinos decided to build "boats-in-moats" that were not "upon the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers" as required by our Constitution. Todd defended our Constitution in Akin v Missouri Gaming Commission, and two years later won a unanimous Supreme Court decision, forcing the casinos to abide by the law. Akin took his pledge to uphold the Constitution seriously.
Protected our Roth IRA Retirement Funds: Todd introduced a bill to provide liability protection for retirement funds in Roth IRAs. The bill passed in the Legislature unanimously, but was vetoed by the Governor for partisan reasons. Todd got the bill passed the next year under other peoples' signatures.
Wrote Law Requiring Public Votes on Tax Increases: Todd believes that taxpayers should have the right to approve or disapprove tax increases. Serving as "Ranking Republican" on the House Ways and Means Committee, Todd was the primary author of the Constitutional Amendment that requires public votes on every major tax increase.
Defended Traditional Marriage: Todd developed a strategy to protect traditional marriage. This was necessary because the U.S. Constitution requires Missouri to honor marriages performed in other states, and some states were considering creating "homosexual marriages." Because of the frequent references to "marriage" in our laws, a change of definition would have had tremendous ramifications in areas such as pensions, inheritance and child custody, to name a few. By threatening to place traditional marriage on the November ballot, Akin caused the Democrats to pass a bill in the last three hours of the legislative session!
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