| Capitol Briefing: Week of May 26, 2014 | |
| Missouri Senate’s End of Session Review: Part 2 Re-cap of measures Truly Agreed To and Finally Passed during the 2014 legislative session; Senate and House joint resolutions assigned to August and November ballots |
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JEFFERSON CITY – The final passage of more than half of the legislation slated to move to the governor’s desk occurred during the final week of session. Numerous measures were also truly agreed to and finally passed in the first week of May, including bills that would shorten children’s time in the foster care system, create and expand various veteran honor programs, and provide alternative treatments for those who are affected by uncontrollable seizures. Measures Relating to Military Affairs Senator David Sater, R-Cassville, sponsored Senate Bill 600, which changes provisions regarding license plates honoring veterans. This act also expands medallion programs to include veterans who served in World War II, the Korean Conflict, or the Vietnam War as a member of the Missouri National Guard, regardless of whether or not they are a resident of Missouri. In addition, it creates medallion programs for certain veterans who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Desert Shield, and Desert Storm. Under this bill, schools will be required to conduct educational programs and activities as part of Veterans Day celebrations. Senate Bill 600 was passed on May 1. Legislation designed to make it easier for servicemen and women to obtain a marriage license also heads to the governor. Senate Bill 796, sponsored by Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, puts in place a procedure for a recorder of deeds to issue a marriage license if one of the applicants is in the military and has been called or ordered to active duty out of the state or country and is unable to appear in person. The bill also pertains to individuals who are incarcerated. Senate Bill 796 received the General Assembly’s final approval on May 7. House Bill 1372, carried through the upper chamber by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, revises the previously enacted “Spc. Edward Lee Myers’ Law” passed by the General Assembly in 2006. Under current law, it is a class B misdemeanor for a person to picket or protest within 300 feet of a funeral — one hour before to one hour after. House Bill 1372 creates a new section of law for the offense, specifying the types of establishments where funeral or burial services may be held, providing a definition for “other protest activities,” and modifying the definition of funeral. The legislation was passed on May 7. Measures Relating to Health Care and Public Health Senator Mike Cunningham, R-Rogersville, sponsored Senate Bill 525, which allows nonprofit organizations to prepare food in a private home or other area for charitable fundraising events. The bill requires citizens to be informed, by clearly visible signs, that food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulations and inspections. This act does not pertain to food establishments that are regulated by the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), and excludes Jefferson, St. Louis, and St. Charles counties and the City of St. Louis. Other businesses that are exempt from state health and food code laws include cottage food production operations — individuals running operations out of their home that typically produce non-potentially hazardous foods, such as baked goods and candy. Each local health department and DHSS will maintain records of complaints made against each individual operation. Senate Bill 525 was passed on May 1. Legislation sponsored by Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla, addresses those Missourians who receive screenings for breast cancer by requiring facilities that perform mammograms to provide additional information to patients if their mammogram demonstrates they have dense breast tissue. Under Senate Bill 639, which was truly agreed to and finally passed on May 5, this information will let patients know that dense breast tissue might hide abnormalities and they could potentially benefit from supplemental screenings. Since 2012, a bill has been introduced in the Legislature designating the “jumping jack” as Missouri’s official exercise, which is thought to be named after Gen. John J. “Black Jack” Pershing, whose boyhood home is located in Laclede, Mo. The general is credited with inventing the jumping jack as a drill exercise for cadets while Gen. Pershing was a military leader at West Point. House Bill 1603 names the now common activity as the state’s official exercise. The legislation was handled in the Senate by Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph, and was passed by the General Assembly on May 1. A measure that provides access to treatment for individuals with intractable epilepsy was passed unanimously on May 1. Senator Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, sponsored House Bill 2238, which allows the use of hemp extract for medical treatments and creates licensing and registration procedures for the use, manufacture, and distribution of hemp. This bill allows individuals with epilepsy, who have unsuccessfully tried three other treatment forms, to obtain cannabiodiol (CBD) oil to help reduce epileptic seizures. Regulations will be placed on a nonprofit organization that grows the hemp crop and extracts the oil to become an oral treatment form. Registered individuals may possess up to 20 ounces of hemp extract. However, they can apply for a waiver to possess more. The Department of Agriculture may license up to two nonprofit entities, which can have up to three CBD oil care centers. Since House Bill 2238 contains an emergency clause, the legislation will take effect immediately once signed by the governor. Measures Relating to Seniors and Families Senate Bill 530, sponsored by Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, allows illegal drug and alcohol use or convictions — testing positive for alcohol, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, or a controlled substance or prescription drug — to be used in determining the parental fitness proceedings regarding the termination of parental rights. The legislation speeds up the process of terminating parental rights for those parents who are deemed unfit, provides drug-addicted parents with assistance in establishing a safe place to live for their children, and prevents children from spending unnecessary time in the state’s foster care system. The bill received final passage in the Legislature on May 5. Measures Relating to K-12 and Higher Education Senator Brad Lager, R-Savannah, sponsored Senate Bill 701, which is a wide-ranging education bill that specifies information in regard to school superintendents, school accountability report cards, career and technical education, as well as creates the Farm-to-School Program. This bill allows two or more schools to share superintendents; provides schools with locally grown agricultural products for snacks and meals; and adds focus to career and technical education programs, requiring the Department of Education and Secondary Education to revise its scoring guide to provide additional points to districts that partner with area career centers, comprehensive high schools, industry, and business development programs. Senate Bill 701 was passed on May 1, 2014. Legislation creating the Missouri Student Religious Liberties Act, passed by the General Assembly on May 7, prohibits schools from discriminating against students or parents due to their religious viewpoints or expression. House Bill 1303, handled by Sen. Ryan Silvey, R-Kansas City, allows students to express their beliefs through homework or other assignments; pray or engage in religious activities before, during and after school; and wear and display religious messages and symbols the same way others are permitted. However, the legislation cannot require students to participate in prayer nor limit the power of any public school to maintain order and protect students’ safety. In addition, students’ speech rights cannot be violated under this law. Carried through the upper chamber by Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, House Bill 1389 creates a reciprocity agreement for higher education institutions, both public and private, for online education. Several colleges in the Show-Me State offer online education courses all across the country. Currently, these education institutions enter into agreements with every state in which they offer their Internet classes. The state’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education, which is responsible for entering into agreements for interstate reciprocity regarding the delivery of higher education distance learning, may charge fees to any institution applying to participate in the agreement in order to ease the transfer of students college credits from state to state. The bill received final approval by the Legislature on May 7. Measures Relating to Taxation House Bill 1132, handled by Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, makes changes to certain benevolent tax credits in Missouri. The measure was truly agreed to and finally passed on May 7. The act raises the cap on tax credits for donations to maternity homes and pregnancy resource centers from $2 million to $2.5 million, beginning July 1, 2014, and food pantries from $1.25 million to $1.75 million. The provisions of the food pantry tax credit will expire Dec. 31, 2019. Measures Relating to Licensing and Business and Commerce The payday loan industry will see changes if Senate Bill 694 is signed by the governor. Sponsored by Sen. Cunningham, the bill will increase the amount payday lenders are required to pay in annual licensing from $300 to $500 for each location. Payday lenders will also have to conspicuously post the fee for loans in terms of dollars charged per $100 loaned. In addition, the bill will implement extended payment plans, or EPPs, for borrowers to pay outstanding loans, among other provisions. Current law limits the total amount of accumulated interest and fees to 75 percent of the initial loan amount for the life of the loan; the act would reduce that amount to 35 percent. Senate Bill 694 received final passage in the Legislature on May 1. House Bill 1201, also ushered through the upper chamber by Sen. Romine, updates notification requirements for certain individuals who propose to operate a surface mine and revises how permit applications for proposed surface mining operations are evaluated. It expands the area in which surface mine operators are required to send out a notice of intent to operate a surface mine to landowners within one-half mile of the property that is either adjacent to the proposed mine plan, on the area the plan is to be located, or adjacent land where the mine is already located. If anyone notified of the proposed plan requests a public meeting, the bill requires the surface mine operator to cover the cost of the meeting. On May 6, the General Assembly gave its final approval to House Bill 1359, handled by Sen. Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City. The legislation authorizes the Missouri State Capitol Commission and the Office of Administration to enter into contracts for events held at the State Capitol and the Missouri State Penitentiary historic site. The measure, which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2024, will allow the sale of certain items, food and beverages for certain events, such as the Capitol’s various upcoming centennial celebrations. Measures Relating to Government Efficiency and Transparency Legislation initially sponsored by former Sen. Scott T. Rupp, R-Wentzville, removes the requirement to publish the revised statutes of Missouri every 10 years, and instead, allows them to be printed when the General Assembly adopts a concurrent resolution requesting the publication of the revised statutes. Senate Bill 643, later handled by Sen. Scott Sifton, D-Affton, was truly agreed to and finally passed on May 1. House Bill 1081, handled by Sen. Romine, creates the Paperless Documents and Forms Act. The legislation requires the Department of Revenue, beginning no later than Jan. 1, 2015, to develop and implement a method by which all documents and forms that are provided to the public by the department, including records, reports, returns, or any other documents relating to taxes and fees, in order for them to be viewed online no later than Jan. 1, 2021. This includes capabilities of electronic submissions to the department. This does not include creating a state-run electronic filing of individual income tax returns. House Bill 1081 was passed on May 1. Measures Relating to Voting and Elections A bill designed to change Missouri’s presidential primary election date from February to March was given final approval in the General Assembly on May 5. Senate Bill 892, sponsored by Sen. Kraus, was created to alleviate confusion at the polls and increase voter turnout by moving the presidential primary from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February to the second Tuesday after the first Monday in March, making the next presidential primary in Missouri, if signed by the governor, on March 16, 2016. Senator Kraus also handled House Bill 1136 in the upper chamber. The election bill addresses the inspection of voter records, updates the description of voting machines and ballot styles, allows youth assisting in an election authority to receive compensation for their time, and repeals obsolete references to election procedures for previous years, among other provisions. It was truly agreed to and finally passed on May 8. Joint Resolutions Assigned to August and November Ballots The General Assembly gave its approval to numerous constitutional amendments that will go before voters this year. The joint resolutions noted below are used to submit a proposed constitutional amendment to a vote of the people. These measures require the same treatment as a bill in its passage through both chambers and have the force of law, but do not require the governor’s signature. The state’s highest-ranking executive recently assigned the dates these ballot measures appear before Missouri voters. Ballot Measures set for Aug. 5, 2014, include:
Ballot Measures set for Nov. 4, 2014, include:
Once signed by the governor, most of the bills mentioned in this legislative column, unless otherwise noted, will take effect on Aug. 28. Lawmakers concluded the Second Regular Session of the 97th General Assembly on Friday, May 16. The Legislature will adjourn sine die, “without delay,” on May 30, meaning lawmakers will adjourn without appointing a day on which to appear or assemble again. However, barring a special session called by the governor, legislators are scheduled to convene for their annual veto session in mid-September.
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