2016 Legislative Session Underway; Sponsored Legislation

2016 Legislative Session Underway

The Second Regular Session of the 98th General Assembly officially convened on Wednesday, Jan. 6, and we’ve wasted no time getting down to business. At this point in session, much of the work is taking place in committee hearings, with lawmakers presenting their legislation and witnesses providing testimony on a bill’s merits or deficiencies.

Next week, on Wednesday, Jan. 20, the governor will give his annual State of the State address to the Missouri General Assembly. At that time he will lay out his legislative priorities and release his budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2017. The Senate Appropriations Committee, on which I sit, will then use the governor’s proposed spending plan to craft the Senate’s version of the state budget. Part of this process involves taking testimony from various state agencies and departments on their financial needs for the upcoming budget year. Passing an on-time and balanced budget is the single greatest responsibility my colleagues and I undertake each year.

As always, my main objectives as a senator is to be your voice in state government and to represent you to the absolute best of my ability. I will never stop advocating for the issues that matter most to the citizens of the 9th Senate District: education, programs and services that help the neediest citizens in our state and projects that will make the Kansas City area an even better place to live, work and play.

As the 2016 legislative session progresses, please feel free to contact my Senate office with any questions or concerns you may have on state government.

Sponsored Legislation

Listed below are the measures I have filed for the 2016 legislative session. The last day to file new Senate bills is Tuesday, March 1.

Senate Bill 603 provides that a person may petition for the expungement of records relating to any infraction, municipal offense, misdemeanor or felony. Exceptions include any offense involving the use or possession of a weapon or the infliction of forcible compulsion, physical injury or death upon another person, or any offense requiring registration on the sex offender registry. In addition, SB 603 changes the length of time a person must wait before petitioning for expungement from 20 to 10 years for a felony and from 10 to five years for a misdemeanor, infraction or municipal offense. Completion of the sentence or probation is still required.

Senate Bill 604 requires the Department of Corrections to enhance educational programs offered by the department to increase the number of offenders who earn GEDs, provide job and life skills training, work with schools and employers to offer a variety of training programs that provide occupational certification or licensure, and ensure offenders transitioning from incarceration have a copy of any certification or license they earned.

Senate Bill 605 modifies notice requirements for neighborhood organizations seeking to bring nuisance abatement actions in certain cities and counties.

Senate Bill 673 creates a new income tax credit for purchasers of blighted homes. To be eligible for the credit, the taxpayer and the property must meet certain requirements. The amount of the tax credit shall be $5,000 and is nonrefundable and nontransferable, but it may be carried back three years and carried forward five years. Clawback provisions are included for taxpayers who fail to use the property as an owner-occupied principal residence for two years without approval from the authority.

Senate Bill 674 requires the Board of Probation and Parole to review the case history and prison record of any offender who is incarcerated, serving a sentence of more than 15 years, has no prior felony convictions, has served at least 15 years and has exhausted all state and federal appeals. Following the review, the board must report, within a reasonable time, a recommendation to the governor on whether to deny or grant executive clemency.

Senate Bill 675 modifies residential property receivership statutes.

Senate Bill 715 changes the notice requirement that a new owner must give to a tenant following a foreclosure sale from 10 business days to vacate the premises to 90 days.

Senate Bill 716 repeals provisions regarding non-judicial foreclosure proceedings and requires all foreclosure proceedings to be handled judicially, beginning Aug. 28, 2016.

Senate Bill 717 changes the amount a tenant can recover when the security deposit is wrongfully withheld by a landlord.

Senate Bill 742 allows certain people to enter abandoned property to secure it, remove trash and graffiti, and maintain the grounds. It also provides immunity from civil and criminal liability.

Senate Bill 743 provides that a landlord must keep security deposits in a depository institution and changes the amount a tenant can recover when the security deposit is wrongfully withheld.

Senate Bill 744 specifies that Kansas City may require the registration of certain properties.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 42 designates Nov. 14, 2016, as Neuroblastoma Cancer Awareness Day.

Senate Joint Resolution 22 – This constitutional amendment, if approved by the voters, will allow for the creation of discrete tax-free or reduced-tax geographic districts for the purpose of promoting small business development to further economic development in such districts. No such district may maintain tax-favored status for a term longer than 23 years.