Tort reform heads Dan Mehan's state wish list for the next session. The president and C.E.O. of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce says, "It is time for common sense tort reform to rein in the appetites of hungry plaintiff attorneys suing employers."

In particular, says Mehan, venue shopping and punitive damage caps tops his list of needed reforms that would directly affect his business membership. His interest in government action is a reflection of his position in the Chamber three years ago in the government affairs department. The goal fits in with his definition of the Chamber's primary function, "to represent the interests of our 3,000 members and local Chambers of Commerce to state and national governments, courts and agencies."

Nationally, Mehan hopes Congress will revisit the death tax. "Our small employers are being strangled in a morass of red tape," he said. "I'm sorry President Clinton vetoed that bill."

A major state legislative concern of the Chamber is to address transportation problems in highways, rivers and bridges. "This is not a single issue," he said. "It's all tied together. We can't do just highways alone."

He pointed to a brand new problem now looming on the local and national landscape: the forthcoming shortage of quality workers. "In ten years," Mehan warned, "25 percent of our workforce will be gone. How will we replace them? It's a serious, serious problem."

Locally, Mehan finds the biggest advantage Kansas City has in recruiting and maintaining business is its location at a vital intersection of interstates, rivers, resources and people. "It's a good place to live and to work. People want to come here."

"There's also a certain progressive spirit," he said, pointing to Sprint, Farmland Industries and Kansas City Southern. "Kansas City has visionary leaders in the community with a commitment to the region. "And," Mehan added, "if the area grows, it feeds on itself on both sides of the state line."

Sitting in his Topeka offices, John Fowler sees Kansas and Missouri as parts of a regional whole whose business focus is global, not local.

"Our marketplace is no longer local or even regional," said the president and C.E.O. of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. He predicts that our amazing prosperity will fuel the business engine, no matter who wins.

Marketplace expansion depends on legislative action in Washington, D.C. Fowler finds great potential growth specifically in China, Cuba and Mexico. He is heartened that both parties support increased trade with China. "Kansas will benefit," he predicted.

As will the metropolitan area if and when trade barriers are lowered with Cuba. "That could be a big market for Kansas," he said.

And he noted that the new Mexican president is already talking about an open border for trade. A proposal not universally supported in the States, Fowler thinks it should be discussed.

One other piece of legislation Fowler hopes for is repeal of the death tax, which President William Clinton recently vetoed. "Small businesses worry about succession, he said. They need that."

Locally, Fowler finds great potential in what NASCAR will bring to the region in terms of new jobs and related business. "It will be a great stimulant for the whole area," he said.

The state Chamber also supports the proposal for a Land of Oz in Johnson County, he said, for the jobs and benefits it will bring. Fowler pointed out that most of the actual job growth in this metropolitan area has been through the expansion of present business, not the introduction of new business.

While local chambers may actively recruit new businesses, Fowler says the state chamber's main function is in creating and maintaining a climate that will be attractive to business. For example, he believes the Kansas Right to Work law is important to new or existing businesses because it indicates the availability of labor in any marketplace.