|
JEFFERSON CITY — Senators addressed several major issues this week, both on the floor and in committees. Discussion on new laws affecting dog breeding, employment law, and the possibility of building a second nuclear plant highlighted activity in the Senate this week.
On Monday, the Missouri Senate received a new member. Senator Shalonn “Kiki” Curls, D-Kansas City, was sworn into office to represent the 9th Senatorial District, which has been vacant since December. She was given the oath of office before the entire Senate and was welcomed to the Senate by her colleagues.
Click here to listen to audio and video clips posted on March 8 featuring the swearing in of Sen. Curls.
Early in the week, the Senate gave initial approval to several bills. These included:
- Senate Bill 61, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D- St. Louis. The bill would require that two of three commissioners appointed in condemnation cases in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and Jackson County be real estate brokers or appraisers. The goal of the legislation is to make sure that assessments in condemnation cases are more accurate.
- Senate Bill 135, sponsored by Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R- Columbia, which would modify provisions pertaining to the storage and dispensing of motor fuel. The legislation also extends the expiration date for environmental laws relating to dry-cleaning facilities to August 28, 2022.
- Senate Bill 284, sponsored by Sen. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa, was also discussed. The bill would define the term “legend drug” for the purpose of certain pharmacy statutes. The bill targets drug products used in drug trials. Supporters of the legislation say that these pharmaceuticals are not distributed by retailers and do not need to be included in the same category as wholesale drugs. Concerns are that Missouri will no longer to be able to continue participating in drug trials if the law is not changed.
- Senate Bill 207, sponsored by Sen. Brad Lager, R-Savannah, would repeal the requirement that the Missouri Energy Task Force must meet at least once annually to review progress.
- Senate Bill 219, sponsored by Sen. Wasson, would allow owners of ATMs to charge access fees to those with bank accounts in foreign countries.
These bills received final approval later in the week and now move on to the House for similar consideration.
The Senate discussed Senate Bill 163 on Tuesday. The legislation, sponsored by Senator David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, was necessary due to the fact that recent census results have Missouri losing a congressional seat. For the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, the Board of Curators for the University of Missouri and the governing board of Missouri State University, current law provides that no more than one person will be appointed from each congressional district. The bill changes the provision so that at least one, but no more than two persons, will be appointed from each congressional district. The bill ensures that these boards can continue to have nine members, even though Missouri will only have eight congressional districts.
An amendment offered on the floor by Sen. Timothy Green, D- Spanish Lake, was approved by the Senate changing the name of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to "Board for Higher Education."
Senate Bill 163 was giving initial approval by the Senate. The bill needs a final majority vote before it can move to the House.
Click here to listen to audio and video clips posted on March 9 featuring the discussion on Senate Bill 163 on the floor of the Senate.
Senate Bill 113, sponsored by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, was discussed in the Senate on Tuesday. The legislation would make changes to the “Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act,” which was passed by voters in November. The legislation makes several changes to the new law, including changing the name of the act to the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act and removing the current law that restricts anyone from having more than 50 breeding dogs.
Senate Bill 113 also makes changes to the Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA). Currently, the maximum fee for obtaining a license to operate certain dog facilities is $500 per year. The legislation increases this maximum to $2,500 per year. The measure also requires licensees to pay a $25 fee each year to be used by the Department of Agriculture for Operation Bark Alert , a program launched in 2009 to crack down on unlicensed breeders.
The legislation also removes the current criminal penalty provision under the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act and adds new penalty and enforcement provisions to the ACFA and the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act. If the state veterinarian or an animal welfare official finds that past violations of either act have not been corrected, the director of the Department of Agriculture could refer cases to the Attorney General or a local prosecutor, who could then seek a restraining order, injunction, or a remedial order to correct the violations. Civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation are also allowed under the legislation.
Senate Bill 113 also creates the crime of canine cruelty, a Class C misdemeanor, when someone repeatedly violates the ACFA or Canine Cruelty Prevention Act in such a manner that poses a substantial risk to the health and welfare of animals in the person's custody or when someone violates an agreed-to remedial order involving the safety and welfare of the animals. A second or subsequent offense is a Class A misdemeanor. The legislation also makes it a Class A misdemeanor for a licensed breeder to keep his or her animals in stacked cages where there is no impervious layer between the cages, except if cleaning the cages.
On Thursday, SB 113 was approved by the Senate and sent to the House for similar consideration.
Click here to listen to the March 10, 2011, program “The Senate Minute,” which features Sen. Parson and Sen. Keaveny, discussing SB 113 on the Senate floor. Click here to listen to audio and video clips posted on March 10 featuring Senate floor debate on SB 113.
The Senate General Laws Committee met on Tuesday. The committee heard testimony on several bills, including Senate Bill 286, sponsored by Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Crystal City. The legislation is also called “Erin’s Law,” because it was inspired by the story of Erin Merryn, an Illinois victim of sexual abuse. The legislation would create the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Children made up of individuals who are actively involved in the prevention of child abuse and neglect and child welfare, state officials, and lawmakers. The task force would make recommendations for reducing child sexual abuse in the state and submit a final report with its recommendations to the governor, General Assembly, and State Board of Education by Jan. 1, 2012. The task force could also adopt a policy addressing sexual abuse of children, including a curriculum that could be used in schools in the state.
Click here to listen to audio and video clips posted on March 8 featuring committee discussion on Senate Bill 286.
The General Laws committee also approved several bills, including Senate Bill 65, sponsored by Senate Leader Robert N. Mayer, R-Dexter, which relates to abortion with respect to viability. The legislation would amend the definition of “viability” to mean the state of fetal development when it is the physician’s judgment, according to accepted obstetrical or neonatal medical standards of care and practice, that there is a reasonable likelihood the life of the unborn child can still be sustained outside the mother with or without artificial support. Additional provisions in the legislation include requiring the physician to determine the gestational age of an unborn child before performing an abortion and making it illegal to perform an abortion if the unborn child has reached the gestational age of 20 weeks or more and is deemed viable.
Penalties for violating SB 65 would include a Class C felony, and physicians who plead guilty to or are convicted of performing or inducing an abortion in violation of the legislation would be subject to having his or her license to practice medicine in Missouri suspended for three years. Also, any hospital or ambulatory surgical center violating this act would be subject to suspension or revocation of its license.
With this passing vote, committee members recommend that SB 65 moves to the full Senate for debate.
On Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence approved several bills. These included Senate Bill 116, sponsored by Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, which would update the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. When more than one state is involved in establishing enforcing, or modifying a child or spousal support order, the act is implemented to determine the jurisdiction and power of the courts in the different states. Senate Bill 116 would establish rules requiring every state to defer to child support orders of the child's home state and establishes that the place where the order was originally entered holds continuing exclusive jurisdiction. The legislation also incorporates changes required by the Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and other Forms of Family Maintenance to establish uniform procedures for the processing of international child support cases.
The Veterans' Affairs, Emerging Issues, Pensions and Urban Affairs Committee also met on Wednesday to discuss several pieces of legislation addressing modifications to Missouri’s Construction Work in Progress law. A group of Missouri utilities have expressed interest in building a second nuclear plant in Callaway County.
Debate on the legislation focuses on a 1976 voter-approved law, which bars utilities from charging customers the costs of building or financing a new power plant before it starts producing electricity. The legislation discussed this week in committee (SB 321, sponsored by Senator Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City and SB 406, sponsored by Senator Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau) differ in the consumer protections offered in the bills.
Opponents of the measures are concerned that ratepayers will not be treated fairly if the costs of building the nuclear plant are passed to electric customers. Advocates say that changing the law will provide the resources to finance the new power plant, which will secure Missouri’s energy future for the long term.
Click here to listen to audio and video clips posted on March 9 from the committee hearing on SB 321 and 406.
On Thursday, the Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 188, sponsored by Sen. Lager. The measure would change state law relating to the Missouri Human Rights Act and employment discrimination. Senate Bill 188 would bring state law in line with the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The legislation would have state laws changed to mirror federal employment laws when it comes to discrimination, citing that discrimination must be “a motivating factor” rather than “a contributing factor” in wrongful termination lawsuits.
In addition, Senate Bill 188 would allow for summary judgments, guarantee jury trials, limit awards as outlined in federal law and exclude managers and supervisors from being held individually liable. The legislation also addresses Missouri’s whistleblower protections by clarifying that the protections only apply to those employees who call attention to wrongdoing that is illegal, rather than allegations of wrongdoing where no law was broken. The bill now moves to the House for similar consideration.
The Missouri Senate will reconvene on Monday, March 14 at 4 p.m., in which senators are scheduled to take up SB 1 , among other legislation. The First Regular Session of the 96th General Assembly runs through Friday, May 13, 2011.
This update is written once a week throughout the legislative session. To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can track legislation as it passes through the General Assembly, learn more about their district, or, when the Legislature is in session, listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens. For more legislative news, please visit the Senate Newsroom . There you will find various audio and video programs and other services, such as:
- Missouri Legislative Update (MLU) – A video program produced periodically throughout the year that provides an overview of the news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives. The program features news interviews with lawmakers and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
- Capital Dialogue – Missourinet's Bob Priddy hosts this monthly half-hour roundtable program bringing legislators together from the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives from different political parties to discuss their positions on specific issues and legislation.
- This Week in the Missouri Senate – A weekly five-minute audio program that wraps up the week’s news in the Missouri Senate. Programs are posted online every Friday in .mp3 format.
- Senate Minute – A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news. Programs are posted in .mp3 format and are available through podcast.
- Daily Audio / Video Clips – Throughout the year, the Senate Newsroom posts broadcast-quality audio and video highlights from Senate committee hearings, floor debate, press conferences and other legislative events.
- Daily News Clips – The Senate Newsroom compiles daily news clips from various print and online publications that cover issues relating to the Legislature and state government. An archive of past clips is maintained online and is offered as a subscription service.
Subscribe / Unsubscribe
-END- |
|
