Jefferson City — Several bills running the gamut from campaign finance reform to educational benefits for veterans were given final approval by the Missouri Senate this week and are moving on to the House for similar consideration.
One topic of heated discussion was Sen. Charlie Shields’ (R-St. Joseph) campaign finance bill, SB 1038, which was approved by the Senate. The bill repeals Missouri’s campaign contribution limits, allowing individuals to contribute as much as they would like to a political campaign. The bill only affects state candidates; federal donation limits for presidential and congressional candidates would remain the same.
Sen. John Griesheimer’s (R-Washington) legislation that raises the salaries of county sheriff deputies, SB 935, was among those approved. The initiative creates the Deputy Sheriff Salary Supplementation Fund, consisting of money generated by a $10 fee collected for serving civil summons and other court documents. The additional revenue bolsters the salaries of county sheriff deputies statewide, who currently make an average salary of $22,000 per year.
Also passed this week was Sen. Maida Coleman’s (D-St. Louis) initiative, SB 830, establishing 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.
Senate Bill 931, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Purgason (R-Caulfield), was approved and sent to the House as well. The bill makes participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Identification System voluntary and 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).
Another initiative that received final approval this week was Senate Bill 724, sponsored by Sen. Delbert Scott (R-Lowry City), which 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 these nurses the ability to prescribe any drugs a patient may need as long as they collaborate with doctors.
The issue of cyberbullying has been closely followed by the public since the 2006 suicide of Missouri teen Megan Meier, triggered by a neighbor’s alleged Internet-based harassment. This week, Sen. Yvonne Wilson’s (D-Kansas City) cyberbullying bill, SB 762, was given final approval by the Senate. The bill expands the definition of “bullying” as it is used in school districts’ antibullying policies to include cyberbullying and electronic communications.
Also passed was Senate Bill 718, sponsored by Sen. Harry Kennedy (D-St. Louis). The bill 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.
One bill receiving initial approval this week was Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons’ (R-Kirkwood) property tax reform bill, SB 711. Senate Bill 711 mandates that all taxing jurisdictions, regardless of whether they are operating at or below their tax rate ceiling, roll back their tax rate to counter reassessment increases. Currently, only taxing jurisdictions operating at their tax rate ceiling are required by Missouri's Constitution to roll back to protect taxpayers, leaving taxing jurisdictions operating below their ceiling to approve back door tax increases with no legal recourse.
Committee work continued this week. The Senate Ways and Means Committee passed Sen. Luann Ridgeway’s (R-Smithville) SB 748, which allows property tax deductions for non-residents, but with one exception — the state of the non-resident must reciprocate for Missouri residents. Last year, the Missouri General Assembly passed a law that puts an end to tax breaks for non-residents who work in Missouri. Until then, non-residents, mostly from neighboring Kansas and Illinois, were able to deduct the property taxes they pay on their out-of-state homes when they itemize their Missouri income taxes, just as Missouri residents are able to do in Kansas. The law was originally intended to end the tax breaks for residents of other states that did not extend the same favor to Missouri’s citizens, such as Illinois.
Senate Bill 1021, sponsored by Sen. John Loudon (R-Chesterfield), was approved by the Senate Pensions, Veterans’ Affairs and General Laws Committee. The legislation, which legalizes the practice of midwifery, would make Missouri the 41st state to make professional homebirth healthcare a legal option for families. Sen. Loudon’s bill creates a Board of Direct-Entry Midwives with the Division of Professional Registration to oversee the alternative practice.
One supplemental funding bill was also approved this week by the Senate and will now move to the governor’s desk for signing into law. Each session the legislature considers funding needs that arise during the middle of the budget year and makes adjustments accordingly through supplemental budget bills. House Bill 2019 appropriates additional money for the University of Missouri, for the purchase of equipment, planning and other expenses for capital improvements.
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. 25. The Second Regular Session of the 94th Missouri General Assembly will run through Friday, May 16.
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