Earlier in September, the General Assembly met once again in Jefferson City for its annual veto session. On the night of veto session, the Senate and House stood together, successfully overriding the governor on 10 different pieces of legislation. One of the bills going into effect is one I handled, House Bill 339. The measure requires uninsured motorists to forfeit recovery of noneconomic damages under certain circumstances. If you own a car and don’t pay for insurance, you will have to waive the ability to sue for noneconomic losses against an insured motorist. You should have to pay for insurance if you want the same privileges as insured motorists.
Another bill the General Assembly successfully overrode was House Bill 650. The bill places a cap on punitive damages large lead mining operations can be sued for in Missouri. Without this cap, the Show-Me State could lose sustainable employment. The Doe Run Lead Company, in Eastern Missouri, is the last major lead mining facility in the United States. House Bill 650 will not only secure the lead mining industry’s place in the United States, but it will also bring more viable jobs to the state.
Among other pieces of legislation successfully overridden by the General Assembly were bills protecting the religious rights of citizens and defending health care volunteer workers from frivolous lawsuits. The General Assembly also overrode a bill that prevents courts from making decisions regarding custody matters while a parent is on deployment with our Armed Forces.
Another important, yet controversial, bill the Legislature considered during veto session was House Bill 436 relating firearm usage and criminal law enforcement. If you would like more information about my position on this bill, please see the attached statement, also found on my Missouri Senate website (www.senate.mo.gov/dempsey).
I always appreciate hearing from you. If you have any questions about the topics discussed above, or any other issues, please do not hesitate to contact my office.
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