For the last two and a half months, I and 32 other senators (there is one vacant office), have been working to craft and pass legislation in the Missouri Senate, while keeping in mind the constituents we represent and work so hard for.  As we are preparing for our annual spring recess, which marks the half-way point in the session, I am confident that more good things are to come from all of the hard work that goes on in this building.

Ozark National Scenic Riverways
I am not the only lawmaker who is worried about what is happening in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Cape Girardeau, has filed federal legislation to remove the rivers from control of the National Parks Service and to return the land to the state.

I drafted Senate Concurrent Resolution 22 in hopes of addressing some concerns that plague residents and business people in our area. Since the Ozark Scenic Riverways were established by the federal government, a usage plan has been done every 20 years. The research for a new usage plan was started in 2005 and four different versions have been drafted. I support making no changes to the riverways’ current National Park Service (NPS) Usage Plan. Some of the proposed changes will affect nearly every aspect of the use of this beautiful natural attraction. The National Parks Service’s preferred and proposed management plan that would close off many horseback riding trails and ban motorboats on the upper reaches of the Current River. That would undermine the economy of the area, heavily dependent on tourism.

The riverways area protects the Current and Jacks Fork rivers in four counties in southern Missouri. Congress authorized the park in 1964, and the project joined three small state parks and private land purchases. The park draws up to two million people a year for float trips and camping.

It costs the federal government about $6.4 million to operate the park annually. Though six amendments would have blocked using a proposed $6 million in state funds to operate a new state park at the current Ozark National Scenic Riverways; none were adopted. There is $6 million included in next year’s current budget in case the federal government chooses to return the 88,000 acres that makeup the riverways to Missouri.

Debate Focuses on Criminal Procedure Bill – Senate Bill 491
Senate Bill 491, sponsored by Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, seeks to revise more than 700 current Missouri laws. The measure creates no new crimes.  Nothing is decriminalized.  A new felony is being created that plugs a gap in sentencing that has bothered prosecutors for years. This measure will update criminal procedures that have not been changed since 1979.

Among the new charges are different assault charges with varying degrees of punishment based on a victim's age or occupation. Missouri law already includes specific crimes of first-, second- and third-degree assault, but that has been expanded over the years to include separate offenses against corrections officers, the elderly, utility workers or mental health employees. This measure would group many of those offenses into the existing tiers for assault charges, but with a "special victims" designation that could carry increased prison sentences.

This good legislation has been filed for the past several years, and while it has received much debate, it is a rather large bill with 1,100 pages, and will take quite some time to be read, debated and perfected.

Welcoming Guests to the Capitol
This week I had many visitors stop by and say hello. Members of the Missouri Credit Union Association; representatives of the Missouri State Teachers Association; representatives from the Missouri Humanities Council; osteopathic physicians and surgeons from West Plains; Webster County Recorder Connie Robertson; MJHS Art and students; EMT’s from the 33rd District;  and Webster County Recorder Connie Robertson. Lorraine Sandstrom, Randy Maness and Gary Don Letterman also stopped by. Ms. Taylor Smith a Breckenridge Scholar was with a Senate Resolution.