Jefferson City — Following extensive debate this week on a variety of topics, several bills received initial approval by the Senate. If the initiatives receive final approval, they will move to the House for similar consideration.
Senate Bill 724, sponsored by Sen. Delbert Scott (R-Lowry City), gives advanced practice registered nurses the authority to prescribe scheduled drugs. Currently, they are only able to prescribe medications that fall under a certain category. This bill gives advanced practice registered nurses the ability to prescribe any drugs a patient may need as long as they collaborate with doctors, supplementing the shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas.
A measure that makes Missouri farmers’ participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Identification System voluntary was also given first-round approval by the Senate. Senate Bill 931, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Purgason (R-Caulfield), prohibits the Missouri Department of Agriculture from mandating that Missouri farmers are required to ID their livestock (unless the federal government adds a provision in the current law that requires all states to participate in the program). One exception is if the farmer is a participant in an ongoing disease investigation.
Sen. John Griesheimer’s (R-Washington) legislation, SB 935, received first-round approval as well. The initiative creates the Deputy Sheriff Salary Supplementation Fund, consists of money generated by a $10 fee collected for serving civil summons and subpoena. The additional revenue would only be used to supplement the salaries and employee benefits of county deputy sheriffs and would be administered by the Missouri Sheriff Methamphetamine Relief Taskforce (MoSMART).
Senate Bill 830, introduced by Sen. Maida Coleman (D-St. Louis), establishes the Missouri Returning Heroes’ Education Act. The measure limits the tuition a public Missouri university or college may charge to certain combat veterans to no more than $50 per credit hour for programs that culminate in either the earning of a certificate, or an associate or bachelor’s degree. For veterans to participate in the program, they must have served in armed combat after September 11, 2001, been Missouri residents when they first entered the military and been discharged from their service under honorable conditions. One stipulation of the act requires veterans to maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average to continue receiving the tuition reduction. Also, the benefit expires 10 years after the veteran’s last discharge from service. The bill also received initial approval from the Senate.
Sen. Harry Kennedy’s (D-St. Louis) economic development bill was debated on the floor this week as well. Senate Bill 718 extends the life of the Missouri Quality Jobs Act, an initiative enacted by the Legislature in 2005 to attract and retain employers by offering tax credits to companies paying workers the average, or above-average county wage, and offering to pay at least 50 percent of the premium for basic health insurance. The original legislation suspended the issuance of tax credits through the program as of last summer; SB 718 extends the tax credit program through August 30, 2013.
Senators are still continuing their committee work. Sen. Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau) and Sen. Coleman are sponsoring dual Senate Joint Resolutions (34 and 30, respectively) that seek to create an exception to the constitutional ban on retrospective laws for the purpose of allowing sex offender registry laws to apply retrospectively. If passed through the Legislature, and then passed by voters, the constitutional amendment would require all sex offenders to register with the state, even if they committed the crime before the sex offender registry law was enacted in 1995. Both resolutions were heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday (2/11). If these initiatives are passed by the committee, they will be placed on the Senate calendar for possible future debate before the full Senate.
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 Senate district, or listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens.
The Missouri Senate will reconvene at 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 18. The Second Regular Session of the 94th Missouri General Assembly will run through Friday, May 16.
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