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April
Keaveny Connection		 Contact: Stacy Morse
(573) 751-3599

Tax Assistance Still Available Before April 15 Deadline

More Illnesses Could be Covered by CBD Oil

The Dangers of Wrongful Convictions

MoDOT Begins Annual Report a Pothole Campaign

St. Louis Art Museum Hosts Exhibition on George Caleb Bingham
Tax Assistance Still Available Before April 15 Deadline

Health Insurance and Taxes

The beginning of January marks the start of the tax filing season, when individuals and families submit their federal and state tax returns. This year, citizens face new a rule when completing taxes regarding the purchase of an insurance plan under through the Missouri Marketplace in 2014.

Enrollees will receive a Form 1095-A in the mail from the marketplace in early February. Individuals will use these when they fill out their federal returns. Those who didn’t have health coverage for part of 2014 will need to fill out a Form 8965 when filing taxes. This will show if you qualify for an exemption from paying a fee for the months you didn’t have insurance coverage.

For more information about how your Marketplace coverage will affect your taxes, visit www.HealthCare.gov/taxes/ or call the Marketplace Call Center at (800) 318-2596. TTY users should call 1-855-889-4325.

If you have questions about your taxes, need Form 8962 or Form 8965, or want to learn more about the fee for not having health coverage, visit www.irs.gov.  

Missouri Taxes

  • Missouri tax forms for tax year 2014, and previous years, are available at www.dor.mo.gov.

  • Call (573) 751-3505, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, for assistance.

  • Email the Department of Revenue at income@dor.mo.gov with questions about filing tax returns.

Tax Assistance

  • Electronic-filing is a service provided by almost all tax preparation agencies, or individuals can purchase tax preparation software that helps to avoid errors.

  • The Internal Revenue Service has the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which offers free tax help to people who generally make $53,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly and limited English speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns.

  • The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program offers free tax help for all taxpayers, particularly those who are 60 years of age and older, specializing in questions about pensions and retirement-related issues unique to seniors.

  • To find a VITA or TCE site near you, click here or visit www.IRS.gov/freefile  or www.IRS.gov/VITA.

  • Many may qualify for free electronic filing through the Federal Free File Alliance.
  • ElderLink St. Louis is offering to help senior citizens locate free tax help. Elderlink St. Louis can be reached at (314) 812-9300.
The St. Louis Tax Assistance Program has locations throughout St. Louis. Click here for more information on its assistance guidelines and locations.
More Illnesses Could Be covered By CBD Oil
Senate Bill 386 would expand who can benefit from CBD Oil to individuals who suffer from other serious illnesses and conditions.

Last year, the Missouri Legislature passed, and the governor signed into law, legislation to allow the use of oil derived from cannabis plants as a medical treatment for individuals with intractable epilepsy. Cannabidiol (CBD) Oil comes from a cannabis plant but does not contain high levels of THC, the compound in Marijuana that results in a "high."  This treatment has shown to be incredibly effective in treating this debilitating disease giving hope to countless patients and their families. CBD oil is also beneficial in treating numerous other chronic, devastating illnesses which is why I’ve sponsored Senate Bill 386:  Senate Bill 386 would expand who can benefit from CBD Oil to individuals who suffer from other serious illnesses and conditions.

Under Senate Bill 386, people with certain conditions or diseases would be able to use CBD oil as a treatment alternative. Those include:

  • Cancer;

  • HIV/AIDS;

  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;

  • Parkinson's disease;

  • Multiple sclerosis;

  • Spinal cord damage;

  • Inflammatory bowel disease;

  • Neuropathies;

  • Huntington's disease;

  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); and

  • Certain symptoms or complications associated with these conditions. 

CBD oil has been shown to reduce nausea and vomiting, suppress seizure activity, and combat inflammatory disorders, neurodegenerative disorders, tumor and cancer cells, and anxiety and depression disorders. Research from the Pacific Medical Center has also shown that CBD Oil inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells, and G.W. Pharmaceuticals has found that CBD Oil can be used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune diseases, nausea, bowel disorders, and diabetes. 

By expanding the illnesses and conditions in SB 386, the demand for CBD oil will inevitably increase. In order to ensure an ample supply of the oil is available, this legislation increases the number of licenses issued from only two CBD Oil cultivation and production facility licenses, to 10 facility licenses. Additionally, in an effort to boost economic development and increase jobs in Missouri, SB 386 requires that nonprofit entities seeking such licensure be a resident of the state for at least five years.

Last year’s CBD oil legislation passed unanimously in the Senate and I am hopeful that this year, my colleagues in the Senate will support my bill and allow all Missouri patients who could benefit access to this potentially lifesaving oil.

The Dangers of Wrongful Convictions

What does Senate Bill 303 do?


All of Missouri’s nine DNA exonerations stemmed from wrongful convictions that involved misidentification.

Senate Bill 303 would require police to implement written policies containing the following eyewitness identification best practices, which have been scientifically proven to reduce the likelihood of misidentification (from Sen. Keaveny’s press release):

Provisions in SB 303:

  • Administrator who is unaware of or cannot see the lineup members as they are being viewed by the eyewitness;

  • The officer conducting a live or photo lineup should not know the suspect’s identity; this prevents any unintentional cues, which could influence a selection. Because it is not always practicable for a small department to administer a live or photo lineup this way, the “folder shuffle” method can be used as an alternative for photo lineups. This simple method involves placing photos in different folders, shuffling them and handing them to the eyewitness or victim one by one, so the officer is unaware of the photo being viewed.

  • Instructions to eyewitness, victim – The officer must instruct the eyewitness or victim that the suspect may or may not be in the lineup and that the investigation will continue even if a selection is not made; this way, there is no pressure to make a selection, which could potentially be made in error.

  • Confidence statement – A verbatim statement of confidence must be written down by the officer at the time the victim or eyewitness makes an identification. Having the eyewitness or victim describe their level of confidence at that time will provide juries with a useful tool for judging the accuracy of the identification.

  • Proper Filler Selection – Non-suspect lineup members must match the victim’s or eyewitness’ description of the perpetrator while ensuring that no one in the lineup stands out.

Why is Senate Bill 303 necessary?

 

Eyewitness misidentification is the leading contributor to wrongful convictions proven by DNA evidence, playing a role in 72 percent of such cases, nationally.  All of Missouri’s nine DNA exonerations stemmed from wrongful convictions that involved misidentification. In each of these cases, bad identification practices were used and led to an innocent person being wrongfully convicted.

"Wrongful conviction" also pose a grave threat to public safety. Four of the state’s nine DNA exonerations involved a real perpetrator who was free to commit harm to the public while an innocent person was in jail. For example, the Erby case in St. Louis could not get DNA tested for over six years. The blocked the DNA testing would eventually free Erby, the real rapist was on the streets and committed a slew of other violent crimes, including forcible rape, assault, burglary and armed criminal action.  Nationally, real perpetrators were identified in 92, or 39 percent, of wrongful convictions involving misidentification, which were proven by DNA evidence. In those cases, the real perpetrators went on to commit 102 additional violent crimes, including 64 rapes, 17 murders and 21 other violent crimes.

MoDOT Begins Annual Report a Pothole Campaign
To report a pothole to MoDOT, call (888) 275-6636 or email comments@modot.mo.gov

The Missouri Department of Transportation is holding its annual report a pothole campaign. Beginning March 9, the department has undertaken a statewide program to fill in holes that might have been created by winter weather as soon as they're reported.

MoDOT’s goal is to temporarily repair the pothole the day after it’s reported. The campaign is an effort to get the public to help MoDOT identify dangerous potholes along Missouri roadways, which can cause significant damage to vehicles.

Drivers can report potholes in a variety of ways. Call MoDOT’s customer service center at 1-888-275-6636; fill out a “road concern” form online at www.modot.org; email at comments@modot.mo.gov; or use a variety of social media platforms.

You can also use your smartphone or tablet with the Web app at www.modot.org/roadconcern.
St. Louis Museum Hosting Exhibition on George Caleb Bingham
The St. Louis Art Museum is currently holding “Navigating the West: George Caleb Bingham & the River.” The exhibition runs from Feb. 22 to May 17.

The Missouri and Mississippi rivers played a pivotal role in our state’s history. These waterways are largely responsible for the growth of St. Louis. They allowed our city to become a major shipping hub, and travelers and settlers saw it was the first step toward the unknown lands between Kansas and California. George Caleb Bingham, one of America’s greatest artists, captured this time through a series of gorgeous paintings.

The St. Louis Art Museum is currently holding “Navigating the West: George Caleb Bingham & the River.” The exhibition runs from Feb. 22 to May 17. I highly encourage those in our area to attend. Bingham is responsible for the famous mural here at the Capitol, which most citizens have seen, either through personal visits or school group tours. He is one of America’s most beloved artists, and I’m consistently amazed by his work. For more information, http://slam.org/Bingham/ or contact (314) 721-0072.

The museum also hosts videos on its YouTube account depicting life on the rivers in the 21st Century. The series is riveting and extremely interesting. To watch these videos, click on the “Modern Day River Stories” tab on the exhibition website or click here.