Shown above, Sen. Schaefer with the Rock Bridge Bruins Ladies Golf team on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

On Wednesday (5/1), the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing with the Department of Revenue (House Bill 4), the Department of Public Safety (House Bill 8) and the Inspector General’s Office of the Social Security Administration, which spent two hours testifying before the committee. 

Special Agent Keith Schilb, with the Inspector General’s Office, testified that he sought a list of Missouri’s concealed gun permit holders in November 2011, but destroyed the computer disk because the list of names, birth dates and Social Security numbers appeared jumbled. He said he sought and obtained another list this January, but could not open the password-protected computer disk and also destroyed it.

In February, he again requested a computer disk of concealed gun permit holders but because his supervisors decided the effort would require too much time and resources, Agent Schilb never picked it up.

Shown above, Sen. Schaefer with the Rock Bridge Bruins Ladies Basketball team on Wednesday, May 1, 2013.

Shown above, fourth grade students from Harrisburg Elementary School visited the Capitol on Tuesday, May 7, 2013.

The House and Senate budget conference committee agreed to cut the Department of Revenue budget by one-third until they cease scanning and retaining documents. Should the governor order the scanning to be stopped, the budget to the department will be restored.
The Pilot Grove high school band performed at the Capitol Building on Wednesday for the Missouri Fine Arts Education Day.  Congratulations to Pilot Grove on your selection to perform – what an honor!

On Wednesday (5/1), the Rock Bridge Bruins girls’ golf and basketball teams were introduced in the Missouri Senate.  The girls’ golf team is the Class 2 State Champions, and the girls’ basketball team is the Class 5 State Champions.  Basketball head coach Jill Nagel is the Class 5 Coach Association Coach of the Year.  Congratulations to both teams and thank you for coming to the Capitol.

On Tuesday (5/7), I introduced fourth grade students from Our Lady of Lourdes Interparish School on the Senate floor. With them was Hannah Hulshof, daughter of Kenny and Renee Hulshof; Caroline Neuner, the daughter of Brian Neuner; and Lauren Hervey, daughter of Erin Hervey. Lauren’s maternal grandparents, Phil and Joan Barry, served in the House. Hannah, Lauren, and Caroline were made pages for the day.

Congratulations to Carol Slusher, of Columbia, who received the Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award on Wednesday (5/8). Thank you for the investment you make in your community!

Budget House Bills 1 through 13 were granted conference by both the Senate and the House last week. Conference committees were selected.  Senator Schaefer, Sen. Scott T. Rupp, Sen. Mike Kehoe, Sen. Shalonn “Kiki” Curls and Sen. Gina Walsh were appointed to the committee.  The House appointed the following: 

• House Bill 1—Rep. Rick Stream, Rep. Tom Flanigan and Rep. Jeanne Kirkton;
• House Bill 2—Rep. Stream, Rep. Mike Lair and Rep. Genise Montecillo;
• House Bill 3—Rep. Stream, Rep. Flanigan and Rep. Montecillo;
• House Bill 4—Rep. Stream, Rep. Denny Hoskins and Rep. Gail McCann Beatty;
• House Bill 5—Rep.  Stream, Rep. Mark Parkinson and Rep. McCann Beatty;
• House Bill 6—Rep. Stream, Rep. Craig Redmon and Rep. Kirkton;
• House Bill 7—Rep. Stream, Rep. Flanigan and Rep. Kevin McManus;
• House Bill 8—Rep. Stream, Rep. Marsha Haefner and Rep. Chris Kelly;
• House Bill 9—Rep. Stream, Rep. Flanigan and Rep. Jill Schupp;
• House Bill 10—Rep. Stream, Rep. Sue Allen and Rep. Kirkton;
• House Bill 11—Rep. Stream, Rep. Flanigan and Rep. Kirkton;
• House Bill 12—Rep. Stream, Rep. Flanigan and Rep. Kelly; and  
• House Bill 13—Rep. Stream, Rep. Flanigan and Rep. Kirkton.

House Bill 17, House Bill 18 and House Bill 19 passed with amendments.  After meeting this week with conferees, budget agreements were taken to both chambers. The Constitution requires the budget to be completed by 6 p.m. Friday, May 10.

The current status of my proposed legislation for this session is as follows:

• House Bill 55, which I am handling for Rep. Flanigan, creates a tax amnesty program; it is on the formal calendar of House bills for third reading in the Senate.
• Senate Bill 13, an act that would change solid waste language, is on the Senate’s informal calendar for perfection.
• Senate Bill 81, which gives the courts discretion to award attorney’s fees, was passed out of the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and awaits placement on the Senate calendar for possible debate. 
• Senate Bill 82, which deals with a possible lieutenant governor vacancy, is on the Senate’s informal calendar for perfection.
• Senate Bill 97, which modifies the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, was referred to the General Laws Committee and awaits a hearing.
• Senate Bill 98, which modifies provisions relating to animal shelter fees, was referred to the Agriculture Committee and awaits a hearing.
• Senate Bill 122, which modifies the state’s Sunshine Law, was approved by the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and is awaiting placement on the Senate calendar.
• Senate Bill 130, which increases the penalties and driver’s license suspension periods for those who fail to yield the right-of-way in certain instances, was passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee and is awaiting placement on the Senate calendar.
• Senate Bill 244, which modifies provisions relating to the registering and issuance of death certificates, was voted out of the Financial and Government Organizations and Elections Committee and awaits placement on Senate calendar.
• Senate Bill 320, which makes changes to the composition of the University of Missouri Board of Curators, was heard in the Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee last Wednesday (4-29). The Associated Students of the University of Missouri testified in favor of the bill. 
• Senate Bill 321, which creates a home inspector licensing board and procedures for licensing home inspectors, was referred to the Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee and awaits hearing.
• Senate Bill 462, which authorizes circuit clerks to collect a surcharge for processing garnishments, was passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and awaits placement on the Senate calendar.
• Senate Bill 463, which allows Boone County to adopt regulations to control the standards for residential units and develop a program for licensing and inspecting the units, was heard in the Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee on Wednesday, April 10.
• Senate Bill 464, which requires approval by the General Assembly before the Board of Public Buildings may issue revenue bonds for state office buildings, was referred to the Appropriations Committee.  
• Senate Bill 465, which creates a tax amnesty program for state taxes, was referred to the Appropriations Committee.
• Senate Bill 466, which requires that all donation receptacles have the name and contact information of the owner, was heard in the General Laws Committee and awaits placement on the Senate calendar for possible debate.  
• Senate Bill 467, which requires the General Assembly to consider youth smoking statistics when appropriating money from the Life Sciences Research Fund, was heard in the General Laws Committee and awaits placement on the Senate calendar for possible debate.
• Senate Bill 468, which allows a local hospital to abolish the current property taxes to fund the hospital in order to establish a sales tax to fund such operations, was heard in the Ways and Means Committee and awaits approval from committee members to be placed on the Senate calendar.  
• Senate Joint Resolution 3, which, if approved by voters, would allow the issuance of state bonds for various infrastructure projects, was heard in the Appropriations Committee and awaits placement on the Senate calendar for possible debate.  

The following bills have been approved by the Senate and are now moving through the House:

• Senate Bill 12, which provides immunity from civil liability for court appointed attorneys, was passed out of House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, April 24, was referred to the House Rules Committee.  
• Senate Bill 72, which designates the month of May as “Motorcycle Awareness Month,” was passed out of the House Tourism and Natural Resources Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee.
• Senate Bill 73, which prohibits law enforcement from specifically targeting motorcycles in roadside checkpoints of road block patterns, was approved by the House Judiciary Committee and referred to the House Rules Committee.
• Senate Bill 121, which modifies provisions relating to liquor control laws, was passed out of the House Rules Committee and awaits placement on the House calendar for possible debate.
• Senate Bill 193, which establishes the Advisory Council on the Education of Gifted and Talented Children, was heard in the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee on Wednesday (4-17).
• Senate Bill 226, which would modify the standards for determining when a person is in need of mental health detention and evaluation, was third read and passed last Thursday (4-18) and second read in the House on Monday (4-22). It awaits referral to a committee.  
• Senate Joint Resolution 14, which, if approved by voters, would reaffirm Missourians’ Second Amendment rights, was heard in the House General Laws Committee. Representative Caleb Jones is handling the bill in the House.  

Did you know...?

There is a life-size statue of the comic strip character Beetle Bailey on the University of Missouri campus. Mort Walker, the writer of the Beetle Bailey comic, was a student at the university and started the comic strip there, with Beetle Bailey featured as a college student himself.

Thank you for your continued interest in the issues that affect the citizens of Boone and Cooper counties. If you have any questions or concerns throughout this session, please contact my office.