After observing the Easter holiday, Missouri senators jumped back into work on Tuesday, April 10, and gave final approval to several measures.

To protect landlord rights, SB 804 states that if a tenant receives a court judgment stating he or she must vacate the property and that person hasn’t done so 10 days after the judgment, he or she would be subject to a Class B misdemeanor. The bill sponsor stated that landlords deserve the same protections under the law as any other legitimate business owner.

Senate Bill 742, sponsored by Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, would require health carriers to credential a health care practitioner within 90 days of receiving a completed application from a practitioner. The act defines credentialing as “a health carrier's process of assessing and validating the qualifications of a practitioner to provide patient care services and act as a member of the health carrier's provider network.”

Senate Bill 628 would expand the number of detention facilities that qualify for the Inmate Security Fund, which would be renamed the "Inmate Prisoner Detainee Security Fund.” The use of finances in the fund are modified to include the purchase of information sharing equipment to allow inmates, detainees or prisoners in a shorter-term detention facility to be identified upon booking and tracked within certain law enforcement or criminal justice systems.

Aiming to protect Missourians from catastrophic flood damage, SCR 25, sponsored by the Senate President Pro Tem, would, upon approval, urge the federal government to manage the Mississippi River to protect against devastating flood events. More specifically, the resolution would strongly urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to:

• Re-examine the flood plan for the Mississippi River;
• Conduct its river operations to avoid flooding disasters, like those experienced in 2011; and
• Rebuild the damaged levees as quickly as possible.

Also addressing flood protections, SCR 16, would, upon approval, urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to:

• Accept the recommendations of the independent technical review panel regarding the improvement of its flood protection operations;
• Conduct its river management in accordance with its duty to control flooding; and
• Continually make flood control a top priority in its future river management planning activities.

Senate Bill 837, sponsored by Sen. Tom Dempsey, R-St. Charles, would modify the definition of “franchise” under Missouri franchise law, specifically for agreements between alcohol wholesalers and suppliers so that a franchise may exist even without a license to use a trade name, trademark, or service mark, regardless if there is a community of interest in the marketing of the products.

With final approval issued by the Senate, these measures now move to the House for consideration.

Senate Gives Its Approval to Several House Measures

House Concurrent Resolution 37 would urge U.S. Congress to support greater domestic development of North American sources of oil and approve the Keystone XL pipeline project. Proponents of the act say the project would ensure America’s oil independence, lower the cost of gasoline, and create jobs. Opponents are concerned the project could harm wildlife and have a negative environmental impact, among other concerns. With approval from the Senate, the resolution is declared Truly Agreed to and Finally Passed.

Click here to watch “Daily Audio and Video Clips” from April 12, which feature debate on HCR 37. Featured in this posting is Senate Minority Floor Leader Victor Callahan, D-Independence.

House Bill 1106, handled in the Senate by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, would change the laws regarding county collectors and collector-treasures, except in a county with a charter form of government. With a Senate substitute adopted, HB 1106 moves back to the House for final approval.

Senate Gives Initial Approval to Bill Addressing Charter Schools

Senate Bill 576 would modify provisions relating to charter schools, allowing charter schools to operate in unaccredited districts throughout the state, among other provisions. Under current law, charter schools may only operate in the St. Louis City and Kansas City school districts.

More specifically, the bill would allow charter schools to operate in districts accredited without provisions, if sponsored by the local school board. However, a school board that has an enrollment of 1,550 students or more cannot enroll more than 35 percent of its enrollment in charter schools. Under the bill, charter schools could also develop in provisionally accredited districts after three full school years of provisional accreditation and APR scores are consistent with a classification of provisionally accredited or unaccredited district, beginning in the 2012-2013 school year.

A final passing vote by the Senate would allow SB 576 to move to the House for consideration.

Senate Debates Several Bills on the Floor

The upper chamber considered HB 1174, which would change the laws regarding school accreditation by authorizing the State Board of Education to establish an alternative governing structure for a failing school district.

On the Senate floor, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, offered an amendment to the bill that would change provisions outlined in the Turner vs. Clayton decision. His amendment would allow local boards of education in each district to determine the criteria for student transfers primarily on teacher availability and space.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education states that the July 16 Missouri Supreme Court ruling calls for unaccredited public schools to pay tuition payments for students who transfer to accredited school districts in the same or neighboring counties. The ruling also states that receiving school districts must accept all those students who wish to transfer.

Click here to watch “Daily Audio and Video Clips” from April 12, which features Sen. Schmitt offering his amendment on the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 661, also sponsored by Sen. Schmitt, would create a phased-in individual income tax deduction for business income and reduce the corporate income tax over a five-year period. Senator Schmitt said this proposal is a follow-up act for the corporate franchise tax measure that was passed last year (SB 19).

Click here to listen to “The Senate Minute” from April 10, which highlights the debate on SB 661. Featured in this report are Sen. Schmitt and Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis.

Senate Joint Resolution 30, sponsored by Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue, would, upon voter approval, require the joint election of the governor and lieutenant governor, beginning in the year 2016. Proponents of the measure say that as the president and vice president run on the same ticket, the governor and lieutenant governor should, as well. Opponents say that electing a lieutenant governor separate from the governor provides a better legislative balance.

Click here to watch “Daily Audio and Video Clips” from April 11, which highlight debate on SJR 30. Lawmakers featured in these postings include Sen. Lamping and Sen. Callahan. You can also listen to “The Senate Minute” from April 12, which also features a report on SJR 30.

Senate Appropriations Committee Passes FY 2013 Budget

The Senate Appropriations Committee continued to review Missouri’s operating budget for Fiscal Year 2013 this week (FY 2013 will run through July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013).

On Thursday, April 12, the panel passed the 13 bills that  comprise the projected $24 billion operating budget. The measures (HB 2001 through HB 2013) address all aspects of Missouri’s budget from Public Debt to Statewide Real Estate.

Members of the Senate have stated they are determined to keep funding strong for vital state programs, including education, without raising taxes on Missourians.

The budget will now be brought before the full Senate for consideration. All Senate bills passed by the Senate will be sent back to the House for its approval. If there are any disagreements between the two chambers, a conference committee for each budget bill will be called to iron out any differences. The budget has to be delivered to the governor no later than 6 p.m. on May 11, 2012.

To review the Senate committee’s budget notes, please click here.

Click here to listen to “The Senate Minute” from April 11, which features a report on the FY 2013 budget review. Lawmakers included in this report are Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, and Sen. Keaveny.

Several Bills Voted Out of Committees

With only weeks remaining in the 2012 legislative session, much of committee work now focuses on considering measures passed by the House, which have been moved to the Senate panels for approval. Some of those bills to receive passing votes by Senate committees this week include:

• House Bill 1059, approved by the Senate Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee, would change the required percentage necessary to initiate a recount of the votes cast in an election.
• House Bill 1140, passed by the Senate General Laws Committee, would require the Office of Administration to maintain public school and municipal and county government accountability information on the Missouri Accountability Portal.
• House Bill 1236, passed by the Senate Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee, would change the laws regarding the Fair Ballot Access Act by repealing the provision that requires a petition to form a new political party to contain the name of a resident of each congressional district.
• House Bill 1250, also approved by the Senate Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee, would allow certain third class cities to cancel any primary election for the office of mayor or councilman. 

With the green light given to these measures by their respective committees, the bills may now proceed to the full Senate for possible consideration.

The Missouri Senate will stand adjourned until 4:00 p.m. Monday, April 16.

To see the Senate’s weekly schedule or view a complete list of bills filed this year, among other information pertaining to the 2012 legislative session, please visit the Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov.

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.

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.
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