JEFFERSON CITY • Two bills that are part of a package of business-friendly legislation are facing very different fates this week, with Gov. Jay Nixon signing one Tuesday and likely vetoing another on Friday.

The first, which would phase out the corporate franchise tax, was signed by Nixon Tuesday in Kansas City. In announcing his decision, the governor said ending the franchise tax will provide an incentive for companies to locate and grow in Missouri. During the 2010 fiscal year, the state collected around $87.5 million in corporate franchise taxes. Approximately 3,000 Missouri businesses will be affected by this phase out.

The second bill, which would alter the Missouri Human Rights Act to make it more difficult to win a discrimination suit against an employer, would roll back decades of progress in protecting civil rights, encouraging fair treatment and fostering mutual understanding and respect among all citizens, Nixon said.

“This bill would make it harder to prove discrimination in the workplace, and would throw new hurdles in the path of those whose rights have been violated,” Nixon said in a statement. “That is unacceptable.”

Nixon said he plans to act on the bill Friday, but his statement never specifically said he planned to veto it.

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce, who proposed the change as part of their legislative agenda known as "Fix the Six," called Nixon's statement disappointing. Proponents argue the legislation would simply put the state in line with federal law, reduce frivolous lawsuits and insure more timely and fair resolution for legitimate discrimination cases. 

"Plaintiffs lawyers should not be allowed to dictate the agenda on job creation," said Daniel P. Mehan, Missouri Chamber president and CEO. "Bottom line, Missouri courts have eroded the standards in employment law and this is costing our state jobs.”

Nixon argued that the bill makes it easier for Missouri companies to "discriminate against people with disabilities or cancer, and against women, older workers and minorities," which does not help create jobs.

The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, said the Senate will attempt to override the governor's veto, although he isn't sure the effort will get enough traction in the House to succeed.

House Speaker Steve Tilley, R- Perryville, would not say definitively whether the House would attempt to override a gubernatorial veto on the measure. He noted that the Senate would have to move to override a veto first; from there, Tilley said, House leadership would look at whether they could secure the two-thirds majority required ito overturn the governor's decision.

The employee discrimination bill passed the House on a 93-63 vote. An override would need 109 votes. It passed the Senate on a 25-9 vote.

Lager said he would also work with the governor to craft another bill that Nixon would be willing to sign before the session ends.