The Missouri Senate returned to the Capitol this week for the Second Regular Session of the 97th General Assembly, which officially began at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 8. For the next five months, we’ll be working in Jefferson City on legislation to improve the lives of citizens in our state. It’s an honor to serve the residents of the 19th District, and I look forward to a productive year. 

I’ve already filed the following bills:

• Senate Bill 498 would require health insurance navigators to be bonded and creates a private cause of action against navigators for the unlawful release of information;
  
• Senate Bill 696 would increase the penalties and driver license suspension periods for those who fail to yield the right-of-way in certain instances;
  
• Senate Bill 697 would allow the Missouri Department of Revenue to disclose the annual number of cigarettes sales by the tobacco manufacturer; and
  
• Senate Joint Resolution 36 would, upon approval by the voters, modify the Missouri Constitution to make inviolable Missourians’ right to keep and bear arms.

Legislators have until the end of February to file bills. I will keep you updated on my sponsored legislation and any new measures I propose as the session continues. 

The Senate will spend the next few weeks working mostly in committee, where we’ll hear testimony on various bills.  As measures are approved, they’ll make their way to the floor for debate by the full Senate.

In addition to considering legislation, work will soon begin on the Fiscal Year 2015 budget. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, a vast amount of my time during session is spent crafting our state’s spending plan. Over the next month, the committee will begin taking testimony from various state departments on their fiscal needs for the coming year.

The Senate will not be in session Monday, Jan. 20, in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The governor will issue his State of the State address in the House chamber on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m.

Thank you for your interest in the issues that affect the citizens of Boone and Cooper counties.  If you have any questions or concerns throughout this session, or plan on coming by the Capitol, please contact my office at (573) 751-3931.

Did you know...?

T.S. Eliot, author of “The Wasteland,” considered by many scholars to be one of the greatest poems in the English language, was born in St. Louis, Mo.