JEFFERSON CITY — The beginning of July marked the signing of three bills sponsored by Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, during the 2013 legislative session. All received tremendous support in the Missouri Legislature throughout the regular session and will help modernize various state services.

The first bill to receive approval from the governor’s pen was SB 69, which is designed to improve productivity and eliminate the arduous process when dealing with mistakes found in administrative child support orders. Senator Keaveny’s bill grants authority to administrative hearing officers from the Missouri Department of Social Services (DSS) to set aside or correct administrative child support decisions or orders and proposed administrative modifications of an order. Although the errors addressed in SB 69 do not come up often in child support cases — during FY 2011, DSS issued 11,863 child support decisions, and only 111 scrivener’s errors were found in that timeframe — it will help eliminate unnecessary steps in the process of correcting mistakes.

“By allowing officials to fix errors themselves, those professionals can get their work accomplished in a more timely manner and prevent cases from backing up in the courts,” Sen. Keaveny said.

On July 2, the governor signed Sen. Keaveny’s SB 100, which is an omnibus bill that addresses various state programs and the judicial system. The heart of the bill helps increase protections for Missourians involved in bankruptcy proceedings and keeps certain funds safe for health-related purposes. Under current state law, an individual who is forced to declare bankruptcy can exempt his or her money located in a retirement or a profit-sharing plan from creditors. Senate Bill 100 expands those exemptions to include money a Missourian has accumulated in a health savings plan or received from an inherited individual retirement account (IRA).

“Dealing with the stress of filing for bankruptcy is troubling enough, let alone having to worry about the depletion of your savings for health emergencies,” Sen. Keaveny said. “Bankruptcy proceedings are meant to guide people in their financial matters and get their affairs in working order, not cripple their health savings. I believe everyone deserves access to good health care, and we need to do all we can to prohibit barriers that prevent people from taking care of their health.”

A few days later, on July 5, the governor gave his executive approval to SB 99, legislation that addresses Missouri’s governmental structure and elections.  Senator Keaveny’s legislation, when initially drafted, started out with a single provision relating to the election of public administrators within the City of St. Louis.  When this bill takes effect, a majority of the circuit judges and associate circuit judges of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court will be responsible for appointing the public administrator for the City of St. Louis.

The bill also gives the Secretary of State the authority to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit organization to print copies of Missouri’s official state manual, also known as the “Blue Book.” This publication features information about local, state and federal governments, in addition to stories, essays and pictures that help preserve Missouri’s heritage. 

“A few years ago, the Legislature decided to only publish the Blue Book online; however, this prohibited a segment of our state’s population from accessing this important information,” Sen. Keaveny said.  “I was supportive of this amendment to my legislation and proud to see this provision become law, effectively putting back in to the hands historical information about our great state.”

Other provisions found in SB 99 address the charging of taxes on certain motor vehicles, trailers, boats and outboard motors and allow citizens to vote on whether to remove the application of the local sales to the titling of these types of vehicles and equipment. The bill also allows certain third class cities to eliminate, by ordinance or order, primary elections for mayor and councilmen offices. Potential candidates for these offices would have to file a statement of candidacy with the clerk in order to be placed on the ballot.

All three bills are slated to take effect on Aug. 28. For more information about Sen. Keaveny’s sponsored legislation, visit his Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov/keaveny.