The Missouri Senate adjourned this week for its annual mid-session recess. Before the week came to a close, a Senate bill addressing the state’s worker’s compensation law was approved by the Missouri House and delivered to the governor for his signature. 

Senate Bill 572, sponsored by the Senate Majority Floor Leader, addresses protections for co-employees who are at risk of personal lawsuits for their role in honest accidents at work, among other provisions.

Co-employees would be released from all liability for workplace injuries or death for which compensation is recoverable under the workers' compensation statutes. However, the employee would be liable if he or she engaged in an affirmative, negligent act that purposefully and dangerously caused or increased the risk of injury to another person.

The measure states that occupational diseases would be exclusively covered under workers’ compensation laws. Also, toxic exposure would be defined as exposure to chemicals, dust, fumes, radiation, and other such substances that, when ingested or inhaled, would cause significant problems such as cancer, deformities, and death. Death benefits for employees would be raised from $5,000 to $10,000.

Also this week, HB 1219 received final approval from the Missouri Senate and is now on its way to the governor’s desk. The bill would change the laws regarding unlawful discriminatory employment practices as they relate to the Missouri Human Rights Act and establish the Whistleblower Protection Act.

The bill is designed to put Missouri in line with federal discrimination laws, allowing for a more business-friendly climate. Currently, state law requires workers to prove that discrimination is a “contributing factor” in a discrimination lawsuit against the employer. This bill would change this to a “motivating factor,” the same standard laid out in the federal Civil Rights Act.

A similar measure, SB 592, was passed out of the Senate earlier last month and is now in the House for similar consideration.

In addition, numerous Senate bills approved by the upper chamber were sent to House for deliberation.

Senate Bill 470, sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, would modify certain provisions relating to the regulation of household goods movers. Under this act, household goods movers would no longer have to file their schedules of rates and charges with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. However, the mover must post its rates and charges in its stations and offices. The bill is designed to remove outdated barriers to promote economic growth in Missouri.

To streamline the state’s retirement benefits system, SB 492, sponsored by Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, states that members of the General Assembly and statewide elected officials who first take office on or after Jan. 1, 2013 would have the same retirement benefits as other state employees who are under the year 2000 plan.

Click here to listen to “The Senate Minute” from March 6, which features a report on SB 492. Featured in the report include Sen. Crowell and Senate Minority Floor Leader Victor Callahan, D-Independence.

To help more children find loving, adoptive families, SB 711, sponsored by Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, states that the race or ethnicity of the adoptive child, the child’s biological parents, or the prospective adoptive parents would not be a consideration when determining the best interests or the welfare of the child.

Sponsored by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, SB 726 would modify provisions relating to mortgage loan brokers who make loans on manufactured homes or modular units.

The restriction against charging points or fees on residential real estate loans would no longer apply to these individuals. Missouri licensed residential mortgage loan brokers with 75 percent or more of their gross income in Missouri coming from loans secured by manufacture homes or modular units would not be required to maintain an office in the state.

Senate Bill 569, sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, would remove the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June as a date available for public elections. Currently, the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February is available for public elections. This act only allows bond elections to occur on that date.

This act would also allow tax elections necessitated by a financial hardship due to a 5 percent or greater decline in per-pupil state revenue to a school district from the previous year, to be conducted at any time.

Click here to listen to “The Senate Minute” from March 8, which includes a report on SB 569. Featured in this posting are Sen. Kraus and Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City.

To bring more business to Missouri, SB 480 would expand a sales and use tax exemption on certain motor vehicles, and would modify the definition of the term “common carrier.”

The act would provide a sales tax exemption for materials, replacement parts, and equipment purchased for the use of motor vehicles (used by motor carriers) that transport people or property. The current sales tax exemption only applies to motor vehicles that are engaged as common carriers of people or property.

In addition, the bill would provide an exemption from state and local sales and use taxes for motor vehicles licensed for a gross weight of 24,000 pounds or more, among other provisions.

Sponsored by Sen. Lamping, SB 722 would create the “Iran Energy Divestment Act,” which would prohibit entities that invest in the energy sector in Iran from making contracts in excess of $1 million with the state and political subdivisions. Entities wishing to make public contracts would need to certify that they are not investors in the energy sector in Iran.

To help Missouri find the best solutions for criminal offenders, SB 699 would address earned compliance credits, administrative jail sanctions, and mandatory placement in programs for first-time revocations.

Among other provisions, the act would create two panels — the “Sentencing and Corrections Oversight Commission” and the “Joint Committee on Missouri Criminal Code.”

The Sentencing and Corrections Oversight Commission would comprise of 13 members and oversee the implementation and the results of the act. Panel members would be responsible for determining ways to reinvest any cost savings as a result of this act to pay for evidence-based practices to reduce recidivism and examine how restitution is collected for crime victims.

The Joint Committee on Missouri Criminal Code would be required to report its recommendations for ways to “harmonize, organize, and revise” the criminal laws to the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2012.

Upon approval from the General Assembly, SCR 24 would urge the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to rescind its newly published rule regarding hours of service and refrain from adopting regulations concerning sleep apnea and other measures affecting the trucking industry. The initiative states that the FMCSA’s new rule regarding hours of service reduces the maximum amount of hours truck drivers may work, from an average of 82 hours, down to 70 hours.

Other initiatives sent to the Missouri House this week include:

• Senate Bill 591 — would allow county assessors to use any motor vehicle valuation guide approved by the state tax commission to value motor vehicles for personal property tax purposes (sponsored by Sen. Parson).
• Senate Bill 607 — would establish procedure for resetting billboards during periods of highway construction.
• Senate Bill 635 — would repeal a provision that allows certain securities to be acceptable collateral for public deposits depending on credit rating.
• Senate Joint Resolution 37 — Upon voter approval, would require all meetings of apportionment commissions to be conducted in public, and would bar commission members from serving in the General Assembly for 10 years after service on the commission (sponsored by Sen. Crowell).

Click here to listen to “The Senate Minute” from March 7, which includes a report on SJR 37. Featured in this posting are Sen. Crowell and Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City.

Measures Considered in the Missouri Senate

Among the bills debated this week in the upper chamber include SCR 21.

This measure would, upon approval from the General Assembly, support increased acquisition and delivery of North American oil resources for domestic refining, and would urge Congress to:

• Support increased delivery of oil from Canada to the United States;
• Enact legislation that deems the Keystone XL pipeline to be in the national interest; and
• Ask the U.S. Secretary of State to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project.

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate defeated the effort to advance the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Click here to watch “Daily Audio and Video Clips” from March 7, which feature postings regarding SCR 21. Featured in these postings include Sen. Kraus and Sen. Chappelle-Nadal.

To help ensure that Missourians aren’t abusing or illegally selling prescription drugs, SB 710 would establish the Prescription Drug Monitoring Act.

The Department of Health and Senior Services would be required to establish and maintain a program to monitor the prescribing and dispensing of all Schedule II through Schedule IV controlled substances by all licensed professionals who prescribe or dispense these substances in Missouri. A dispenser would electronically submit to the department information for each prescription and specify the frequency of the submissions.

Sponsored by Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, SB 727 would create the “Low-Wage Trap Elimination Act.”

The act would require the Children’s Division within the Department of Social Services, subject to appropriation, to implement a child care subsidy benefit pilot program in at least one rural and one urban county child care center that serves at least 300 families by Jan. 1, 2013. The program would be known as the “Hand-Up Program.”

The program would be voluntary and designed so that a participating recipient would not be faced with a sudden loss of full child care benefits, should his or her income rise above the maximum allowable monthly income for individuals to receive full child care benefits.

These measures may receive further consideration in the Missouri Senate at a later date.

The Missouri Senate is scheduled to reconvene for full session on Monday, March 19. The 2012 legislative session will draw to a close at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, May 18.

For a complete list of bills filed this session, please visit the Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov and click on “List of 2012 Senate Bills” under the Legislation tab.

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, and, when the Legislature is in session, listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens.

Throughout session, you can also utilize the Missouri Senate website to follow the Senate’s legislative accomplishments. On the left-hand side of the screen is a window that states the meeting status of the Senate. You can also listen to live debate, follow dates of committee hearings on the hearing calendar, and view the Senate Journal to keep up with the upper chamber’s work.

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.  Please note: Clips linked to this Capitol Briefing are only available for the legislative week referenced in the publication.
• 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.

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