The 2016 Legislative Session begins January 6 at noon.

As January gets closer, so does the start of the 2016 Legislative session. My priorities largely remain the same. I plan to and already have filed legislation in regards to early childhood education, asking the state to implement a study on the cost of the death penalty. I hope there will be changes made that will allow citizens of the Show-Me State to be better protected when dealing with probate courts and more.

Below is some of the legislation I pre-filed for the upcoming session:

• Senate Bill 577 relating to trusts and probate courts.
• Senate Bill 576 is legislation regarding the regulation of powers of appointment. This important tool is used by estate planning attorneys to allow beneficiaries to direct the distribution of funds and also allows them to include, or exclude, assets in either the settlors’ or the beneficiaries’ taxable estates. 
• Senate Bill 578 would modify Missouri law as it relates to commercial receiverships, a legal process by which a court appoints an entity or individual to be responsible for the property, assets and rights of a business.
• Senate Bill 651 expands opportunities for low-income children to attend high-quality early childhood education programs. The bill also makes necessary alterations to the public school funding formula. 
• Senate Bill 652 would require the State Auditor to issue a one-time report on the costs of administering the death penalty in Missouri. I have filed this legislation before and am hopeful it will be signed into law during the 2016 session.
• Senate Bill 653 is known as the Missouri Nondiscrimination Act (MONA). This legislation would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the current list of protected categories under the Missouri Human Rights Statutes.

All of Senator Keaveny's pre-filed legislation is available on his website, including press releases. For more information about all of the Senate's pre-filed legislation visit the Senate's website.

Open enrollment for 2016 ends on January 31.

This year, open enrollment for Health Insurance Marketplace plans is until January 31, 2016. There are several ways to learn more about the ACA or the federal Health Insurance Marketplace:

• Call the Marketplace Call Center: 
  1-800-318-2596, it is open 24/7.
• Visit www.healthcare.gov for live chat assistance.
• Visit CuidadoDeSalud.gov for Spanish.
• Visit www.covermissouri.org.
• TTY users should call 1-855-889-4325.

Cover Missouri: Helping Missourians Find Affordable Health Insurance

Cover Missouri is a coalition of community organizations from around Missouri that are dedicated to helping consumers understand their insurance options. Coalition members include Navigators and Certified Application Counselors (CAC), who can assist you to:

• Understand and navigate new health insurance rules and requirements;
• Understand health insurance basics;
• Research and understand ways to help pay for health insurance;
• Understand the Missouri Health Insurance Marketplace, rules and restrictions; and,
• Help understand where and how to purchase insurance.

There are no fees to use the marketplace or to receive help from a Navigator or CAC. No one should solicit health coverage to you. Here is a checklist of information you will need when you sign up:

• Social Security Numbers (or document numbers for legal immigrants);
• Employer and income information for every member of your household who needs coverage (for example, from pay stubs or W-2 forms—Wage and Tax Statements); and
• Policy numbers for any current health insurance plans covering members of your household.

If you are in need of a plan, you must sign up by January 31, unless your family qualifies for a Special Enrollment Period. This time-frame is a time period outside of open enrollment when you and your family have a right to sign up for health coverage. In the Marketplace, you qualify for a special enrollment period 60 days following certain life events that involve a change in family status like marriage, the birth of a child or loss of other health coverage.

• There’s no limited enrollment period for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). You can apply any time; and
• There’s also no limited enrollment period for small businesses to enroll in SHOP coverage for their employees. You can apply any time.

More than 140,000 Missouri households received financial assistance through LIHEAP in 2014.

To qualify for the programs, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or an authorized immigrant admitted to this country for permanent residence;
• Be responsible for paying home heating costs;
• Have less than $3,000 in resources; and
• Have an annual household income (before taxes) of $32,198, or less for a family of four.

Missouri winters can be long and bitterly cold. LIHEAP can help those who struggle to keep up with winter heating costs.

LIHEAP will help pay heating costs through the month of March. Payments can range anywhere from $45 to $450 and are based on a number of factors. Payments are usually made directly to the utility company.

Those who qualify for LIHEAP may also qualify for additional help through the Energy Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP). This program makes payments to energy providers for households that have their heating service terminated, receive a threat of termination or are running low on propane. The payment is based on the funds needed to restore or continue heating services, which may be up to $800 for the winter program. Eligible households facing a cooling crisis during summer months may be eligible for up to $300.

Anyone interested in applying can download a LIHEAP application with instructions and information at the nearest LIHEAP agency location. Applications are now being accepted.

For LIHEAP assistance in our District, please reach out to:

St. Louis County 
Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTLC) 
2709 Woodson Road 
Overland, MO 63114-4817 
Phone number: (314) 446-4420

City of St. Louis, Wellston 
Urban League (ULSTL) 
3701 Grandel Square 
St. Louis, MO 63108-3627 
Phone number: (314) 615-3640

Other agencies with resources to help with utility bills include:

• Heat-Up St. Louis focuses on assisting the elderly, disabled, and lower income families with their unpaid heating or utility bills. It only covers the immediate city area. Call (314) 241-7668 or click here www.utilitybillassistance.com/html/heat_up_st__louis_utility_bill.html, for more information.
• EnergyCare St. Louis has programs to help, qualifying, low-income St. Louis residents stay warm in the winter and take control over their energy bills. Call, (314) 773-5900; email, ecservices@energycare.org or click here www.energycare.org/get-help-now/, for more information.

The holiday season is upon us, which means this time of year we find ourselves busily preparing for and celebrating the holidays. As we prepare for the gatherings at home and out-and-about, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety wants to remind those who plan to celebrate to designate a sober driver, or call a cab to avoid driving impaired.

There will be statewide targeted enforcement efforts by law enforcement December 18 through January 3, 2016. Between December 12, 2014, and January 1, 2015, 50 people were killed and 272 seriously injured in Missouri traffic crashes. Of those accidents, seven of the fatalities and 48 of the serious injuries involved a substance-impaired driver. That equates to potentially over 300 families whose lives were changed in an instant during what should be the most wonderful time of the year. It’s time to change these numbers.

What is most tragic about these crashes is they are clearly preventable. Substance-impaired driving is a crime, not an “accident”, and is one of America’s most often-committed and deadliest crimes. The facts are known - drinking and driving can be a lethal combination. The consequences are fines, jail time or even death. Enforcement will be out in full force this holiday season, so please think safe and choose a designated driver.

For more information visit www.savemolives.com.

The Zoo will close to the public at 4 p.m. each day of Wild Lights, and will re-open at 5:30 p.m. for the event.

I encourage each of you to visit the Zoo's Wild Lights festive lights display during the holiday season, where there are more than a half a million sparkling bulbs. The Zoo is transformed into a winter wonderland with displays like the Gingerbread Village, Starry Safari, Jungle Bell Rock, Neon North Pole, Swan Lake, Fantasy Butterfly Garden, Snowfall Flurry Walk, Poppin' Prairie Dogs along with countless other displays throughout the Zoo.

The light display will be open from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.:

• Wednesday, December 9 through Sunday, December 13;
• Wednesday, December 16 through Wednesday, December 23;
• Saturday, December 26 through Wednesday, December 30; and
• Friday, January 1 through Sunday, January 3.
  

For more information visit www.stlzoo.org/events/calendarofevents/wildlights/.

From left to right, Rep. Chrissy Sommer, R-St. Charles, Sen. Joe Keaveny, Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-St. Louis County, and Rep. T.J. Berry, R-Excelsior Springs, at the new IKEA in St. Louis. Renew Missouri is responsible for the 2008 ballot initiative that created Missouri's Renewable Energy Standard and the solar rebates, which resulted in the thousands of solar careers that exist in Missouri today.

Renew Missouri recently organized a tour of the new IKEA location in St. Louis. The store opened on September 30 in a facility that has the largest privately owned solar energy array in the state. The set up of 1.28MW is comprised of over 4,000 solar panels covering over 259,000 square feet. The use of solar energy offsets 20 percent of the store's annual energy needs, saving the company tens of thousands of dollars a year.

The store is also the only IKEA facility built with 100 percent LED lighting. The goal is to recycle over 80 percent of the waste that they create, and the store has some of the most energy efficient appliances that are commercially available.