The 2013 legislative session ended more than seven weeks ago, but work never stops at the heart of our state government in Jefferson City. July 14 is the governor’s deadline to sign or veto legislation passed during the 2013 legislative session; if he takes no action, the bills will simply become law on their effective dates. Although I’m home in our community of Rogersville, Mo., I still very much have an awareness of what’s going on at the Capitol, and I’d like to draw your attention to some positive news that will benefit the people of Missouri.

On the first day of July, a bill that’s very important to Missouri citizens and garnered much attention during session received the governor’s signature — SB 252 puts a concrete end to the Department of Revenue’s sly behavior of scanning and retaining Missourians’ private documents from when they sought driver’s and non-driver’s licenses and CCW endorsements.

Cries of outrage could be heard from every corner of the state when the people found out their privacy had been compromised. Missourians learned that their information had been viewed by third party entities, including those with ties to the federal government. It also came to light that the Missouri Highway Patrol released a list containing the names of 163,000 Missourians with CCW permits to a federal agent. At a time in history when the power of the federal government only seems to increase and its motives are wary — not to mention the fact that criminals are continuously finding new ways to hack into technology and steal people’s information and identities — Missouri lawmakers were both angered and disturbed by the actions taken by DOR. We even passed a bill in 2009 (HB 361) that specifically forbids such private information from being shared with third parties and the federal government. The Senate’s solution was SB 252, which sent a message to the executive administration that playing “big brother” is not okay. With the signing of this bill, the scanning of private documents ends immediately, and DOR has until the end of the year to erase any documents already scanned.

Although the signing of SB 252 is a great step forward for the Show-Me State, I’m afraid I also have to report on some bad news initiated by the executive administration. On Friday, June 28, the governor decided to play politics and withhold precious dollars from Missouri’s already frugal state operating budget for Fiscal Year 2014, which began July 1. Some of those withholdings include $400 million in appropriations that were to be used for education, capital improvements and vital state services. The governor cites his reasoning for the budget withholds to the possibility the Legislature will override his veto of HB 253, a measure to lower Missourians’ tax burdens. This is a threat that has made many Missouri lawmakers and citizens angry.

Countless Missourians are relying on the funding that was allocated to them when the Legislature passed the budget in May. Among necessary items to receive a withhold is funding for a cooperative program between Missouri State University-West Plains and Three Rivers Community College in order to operate a trade school in Willow Springs, Mo. The motto of the Missouri Legislature is job creation and economic development. This trade school would provide great training for citizens who want to further their careers and make a good living for themselves and their families. News of the governor’s withholdings has frustrated many people, myself included, and I hope we can put politics aside and do what’s best for the people of Missouri.

If you’d like to see a list of bills passed during the 2013 legislative session, please visit the Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov and click on the “Truly Agreed Bills” link under the Legislation tab at the top of the page. If you have questions regarding the governor’s actions toward these bills, please don’t hesitate to contact my Capitol office. Even though it’s the interim, my doors are open and my staff and I are happy to help.