Dear Friends:

In an effort to keep you informed about the activities at your State Capitol and how those activities may impact your lives, I am offering a regular electronic newsletter. This column includes information about bills making their way through the legislative process, including legislation that directly affects the citizens of Kansas City. I welcome your feedback and encourage you to contact my office with any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you.

The Legislature did not have session or meet for committee hearings on Monday, Jan. 20, in honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. (See Executive Order No. 86-01 stating all state offices will be closed in recognition of Dr. King here.) This allowed us to spend time recognizing Dr. King's legacy and lasting impact on the world around us. In the Senate, we are constantly reminded of the timeless values Dr. King shared with others, his courage, honesty, justice, equality, tolerance and the countless other traits that were representative of this great leader.

As I read the words etched into the marble walls of the Senate chamber, "Free and fair discussion will ever be found the firmest friend of truth," I am reminded that as a member of the Missouri Senate, I am able to apply Dr. King's core values each and every day while representing the nearly 170,000 citizens in the Kansas City area who reside in the 9th District. His voice — his wisdom — allows me to better serve you.

While we set aside one day to celebrate Dr. King's vision, we will always remember his dream and forever commemorate a man who changed our nation — our world, bringing hope and inspiration to millions around the globe.

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, work pertaining to our state's spending plan for each fiscal year is extremely important. In his annual State of the State address, the governor this week outlined his budget priorities for the 2015 fiscal year. General revenue estimates continue to remain at odds, with the governor projecting a net growth rate of 5.2 percent ($8.73 billion), and budget writers in the Senate and House estimating 4.2 percent growth for next year ($8.59 billion). The general revenue estimate, also known as GRE, is the estimate of how much our state will have on hand between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015, based on projections, models and research.

Using his own projections, the governor included a more than $490 million increase for education at all levels, including $20 million for the Missouri Preschool Program, $278 million for the K-12 school foundation formula, and $42.1 million for performance-based funding for our state's higher education institutions.

The governor is also proposing a significant amount for health and mental health care services, including accepting $1.7 billion in federal funds to expand and reform Medicaid, providing 300,000 low-income adults access to much-needed health care services. This would result in $77.3 million in general revenue savings for our state. Additionally, he's calling for $37.2 million for residential services for individuals with developmental disabilities experiencing a crisis; $28 million to fund appropriations-backed bonds to replace Fulton State Hospital, the oldest public mental health facility west of the Mississippi River that is crumbling and can't adequately serve its residents or protect the workers who assist its patients; and $20.6 million to eliminate our current Medicaid in-home waitlist for individuals with developmental disabilities.

Throughout our work, we'll focus on maintaining a balanced budget, just has we have over the last several years, holding the line on taxes, and moving our state forward in the areas of education, job creation, mental health and Medicaid expansion.

This week the Senate Appropriations Committee held its first committee hearing of the year to consider the governor's recommendations laid out during his State of the State address, review items for this year's supplemental budget, and discuss statewide issues that will be addressed in the 2015 fiscal year spending plan for our state. Additional meetings are already scheduled to begin hearing from each state department and regarding their request for funding.

The state of our schools and our children's future remains one of my top priorities as a lawmaker. In the Senate Education Committee, my colleagues and I heard testimony on several measures pertaining to student transfers, school accreditation and charter schools in our state.

The Kansas City School District lost its accreditation in 2011. At the time, the district achieved only three out of 14 standards on the state's annual performance report. However, the case for provisional accreditation for the Kansas City Public Schools is still pending (now a district must meet six standards to receive provisional accreditation and nine standards to be fully accredited). In the meantime, thousands of students in the Kansas City area are slated to transfer to any accredited district in Jackson or adjoining counties in the next school year.

State law allows students in unaccredited school districts to transfer to another nearby accredited school while the old school is required to pay the cost of tuition and transportation for students to the new school. This monumental cost, which is bankrupting one unaccredited district in our state, is a major factor in the school transfer law.

Across the state, the Riverview Gardens and the Normandy school districts in the St. Louis area are already feeling the full force of these effects. This is not an urban vs. rural issue; the way we teach students in the classrooms and evaluate the success of our children's education affects districts across our state. We must sit down and examine how our state's current law can be modified to address the ever-changing needs of our students, while helping schools return to a status of accreditation so our children can once again focus on what matters most.

Taking care of yourself is the first step in preventing outbreaks that can affect all ages within our city. The City's Health Department is offering free flu vaccines for the remainder of the season, while supplies last, to help combat the H1N1 virus, a particularly fast-spreading virus that was the cause of a world-wide pandemic in 2009. Although it's still circulating in populations around the world, flu vaccines started carrying protections against the H1N1 flu virus starting in the 2011-2012 flu season.

If you have been diagnosed with the flu, you should stay at home and follow your doctor's recommendations to help prevent the spread of the virus. You can treat the flu with and without medication; some over-the-counter medicines may relieve flu symptoms, but will not make you less contagious. Your doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs or antibiotics to prevent serious complications or infections.

The seasonal flu clinic is located at the Health Department on 2400 Troost Avenue. Health officials in the city are asking residents to keep checking various locations if you find out your clinic is out of the vaccine.

The Health Department has the flu vaccine available those who are two or older, but supplies are limited. Individuals may receive their vaccine through walk-in visits during regular clinic hours.

The Health Department is also offering free Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccines for men and women between the ages of 19 and 25 years of age. This particular vaccine is a series of three shots administered over a six-month period. The department is able to begin at least 600 young adults on the vaccine program through the month of September.

In 2010, I voted in support of legislation in the General Assembly that requires the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to develop an informational brochure relating to the connection between HPV and cervical cancer, noting that immunizations against the infection are available. HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection and can cause serious health problems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 79 million Americans are currently infected with HPV, and another 14 million become newly infected each year. Adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 to 24 account for as many as half of these infections. Don't be a statistic. To schedule an appointment, please call (816) 513-6152.