On Monday, the Senate Appropriations Committee heard Senate Bill 697, which would allow the Department of Revenue to disclose the annual number of cigarette sales by the tobacco manufacturer. The legislation was voted out of committee and now awaits placement on the Senate calendar for possible debate.

I filed Senate Bill 855 on Tuesday. The legislation would allow fire protection district boards to meet without public notice in in certain emergency situations in order to authorize the disbursement of funds necessary for the deployment of Missouri Task Force One or any urban search and rescue task force. The board must keep minutes of the emergency meeting, which shall be available as a public record, and disclose certain information regarding the meeting at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the board.

I was honored to meet with numerous visitors to the Capitol this week. On Wednesday, Boonslick Technical Education Center students and their instructors, Karen Brosi and Deanna Thies, stopped by my office.

Various other associations and students came by the Capitol on the same day. I spoke with the Missouri Retired Teachers Association; Sherry Powell and student hygienists with the Missouri Dental Hygienists Association; Missouri Society of Radiologic Technologists; Friends of Missouri Midwives; Pete Eichholz and Rock Bridge DECA; and the Missouri State Trooper Association.  Thank you for making the trip to Jefferson City and stopping by my office!

I also met with the new University of Missouri chancellor along with President Wolfe, Rep. John Wright, Rep. Caleb Rowden and Rep. Stephen Webber, to discuss various legislative priorities of the university.

Additionally, I filed Senate Bill 861 on Wednesday. The measure would include motorcycles in the definition of new motor vehicles in Chapter 407.560.

The status of my sponsored legislation for the 2014 session is as follows:

• Senate Bill 498, which would require health insurance navigators to be bonded and create a private cause of action against navigators for the unlawful release of information, was perfected and approved by the Senate on Thursday. The bill will now be placed on the House calendar to be first read.

• Senate Bill 696, which increases the penalties and driver’s license suspension periods for those who fail to yield the right-of-way in certain instances, was second read and referred to the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 30; it awaits a hearing before the committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 697, which allows the Department of Revenue to disclose the annual number of cigarettes sales by the tobacco manufacturer, was second read and referred to the Appropriations Committee.  A hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon, Feb. 10.  
  
  Currently, the Department of Revenue is prohibited from disclosing information relating to a person's tax return, with certain exceptions under Section 32.057, RSMo. This legislation opens the confidentiality section and creates an exception allowing the Department of Revenue to disclose to the public the annual cigarette sales by a tobacco product manufacturer.
  
  The legislation would provide government transparency and availability of data that is otherwise difficult to obtain and readily assemble. Existence of public information may provide state legislators with insight on growth or decline in the state smoking population and its potential effect on future state revenues.
  
  
• Senate Bill 733, which reduces the rate of tax on personal income over a period of five years, was heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.

• Senate Bill 756, which would modify the elementary and secondary education funding formula by adding an additional weight for gifted education, was first read on Jan. 21 and awaits referral to committee for a hearing.
  
  
• Senate Bill 762, which defines automobile event data recorder and limits the release of data collected to five circumstances, was referred to the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
  
  
• Currently, trustees of a county hospital formed under Chapter 205 are prohibited from providing health care services or entering into partnerships with other local or county hospitals if such adjoining or nearby counties also have a county hospital.  Under Senate Bill 763, so long as the trustees of such county hospitals provide consent, county hospitals in Boone and Cooper counties shall be allowed to provide such health care services or enter into such partnerships.  The bill was referred to the Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee and awaits a hearing.
  
  
• Senate Bill 820, which modifies the formula for determining how much money a tobacco product manufacturer that does not participate in the Master Settlement Agreement will receive back from the escrow fund when the manufacturer is required to deposit money from the sale of cigarettes, was first read on Feb. 3 and awaits referral to committee for a hearing.
  
  
• Senate Bill 821, which adds a motorcycle registration surcharge of $5 to be deposited in the motorcycle safety trust fund, was first read on Feb. 3 and awaits referral to committee for a hearing.
  
  
• Senate Bill 843, which modifies provisions of the Missouri Sunshine Law, was first read on Feb. 6 and awaits referral to committee.

• Senate Joint Resolution 36, which modifies constitutional provisions regarding the right to keep and bear arms, was heard in the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday, Feb. 10.  The legislation awaits a committee vote for placement on the Senate calendar.

• Senate Joint Resolution 44 is a constitutional amendment that, if approved by the voters, would require any revenue received by the state in a fiscal year in excess of the amount appropriated for such fiscal year shall be returned to taxpayers in the form of a refundable tax credit.  The bill was heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, Feb. 13.

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...?

February is Heart Healthy Month. Laughing can be a great workout for your heart. Whenever you laugh, the blood flow in your heart is increased for up to 45 minutes, which in turn improves your heart health.