I am proud to say that the Senate has been working hard to pass meaningful and vital legislation that will benefit citizens across this great state. This week two pieces of legislation that I have sponsored were third read and finally passed in the Senate, and will soon be sent to the House for similar consideration.

Senate Bill 706 was drafted in an effort to slow down or stop a new scam that is hitting banks and other small businesses. The scams claim “patent infringement.” Typically the scammers, called “patent trolls,” send out bundles of letters to assorted small businesses claiming they are using their patented software programs. The letters state the recipients only have two choices: (1) the small businesses can pay a fee, or (2) face costly court battles and legal fees. Scammers usually ask for $800-$1200 per employee.

This legislation develops a seven-factor testing system that a court can use to determine if there is a legitimate claim on patent infringement or not. If business owners believe that they have been a target of a bad faith assertion of patent infringement after receiving a demand letter, they have a right to a cause of action. Upon a finding by a court that the letter sender has made a bad faith assertion of patent infringement, the court allows the business owner to recover certain damages.

This week Senate Bill 734 was also perfected and has been added to the formal Senate calendar for third reading. This measure will allow electric cooperatives to hold meetings and allow members to participate electronically or by mail to establish a quorum or to vote on matters brought before the cooperatives’ voting body, if the bylaws allow.

It is imperative that we work to ensure small businesses are protected. I also think it is of the utmost importance to make the work of electric cooperatives as easy as possible. It is time we all embrace the electronic age, and by allowing Senate Bill 734 to become law, we will again be doing so.

This week we also addressed an issue that came up in 2012 during the presidential primaries. Missouri’s primary was scheduled for February of that year. However, national political parties discouraged our state, along with others, from voting that early. As a result, we held a primary that meant nothing and cost our state a substantial amount of money, and then elected the presidential candidate through local caucuses.

In many parts of the state, these caucuses were viewed as being less than successful. One of the main complaints about the change was it allowed only those who attended the caucuses to select the candidate.

To avoid this happening in the future, the Senate approved Senate Bill 892 which moves the presidential primary to the second Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Our goal to pass legislation this year to ensure all Missourians a clear opportunity to take part in our presidential primaries.

Capitol Visitors
As the weather warms up more and more groups are finding their way to the Capitol. This week we had visitors from Summersville School Government class, Boys and Girls Club directors and members, quite a few veterans, members of the Assisted Living Facilities Association and Bob Adams.