Reviewing the 2016 Legislative Session
“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.” Judge Gideon J. Tucker
The Missouri Senate’s 2016 priorities included improving the business and legal climate, reforming health care, protecting the integrity of elections, passing a balanced budget, fighting back against Planned Parenthood atrocities and protecting religious liberty.
Both chambers sought to reform Missouri’s legal climate. Senate Bill 591, if signed by the governor, will add a common sense expert witness standard to ensure juries are given the most reliable, factual evidence on which to base their decisions. Senate Bill 847, awaiting action by the governor, will restore fairness in personal injury litigation and help reduce the cost of insurance for doctors and businesses. The measure restores rules legislated in 2005 but violated by a 2010 judicial opinion that stated parties may introduce evidence of the actual cost of medical care rather than an arbitrary value that was neither imposed nor paid.
Positive health care legislation included one bill that would require a third party to verify whether recipients actually qualify for Medicaid in Missouri. Other states that have passed similar legislation have found thousands of people receiving assistance despite the fact that they did not actually qualify. This bill will help ensure that Missouri is not spending valuable resources on those who do not meet program requirements. The Legislature also passed a measure specifying what licensed individuals shall be considered eligible health care providers for the provision of telehealth services for MO HealthNet participants. Telehealth has the potential to expand Missourians’ access to health care, especially for those who live in rural areas where specialists are in short supply.
Priority was given to protecting the integrity of our elections by passing what is commonly referred to as the voter ID law, which requires an individual to have a valid photo ID in order to vote. A valid photo ID includes a non-expired Missouri driver’s license or a military license. If a voter does not have a valid photo ID, that person can still vote by signing a sworn affidavit. Voters without valid photo ID can obtain one paid for by the state under House Bill 1631. The voters will be asked to vote on a constitutional amendment this fall to decide whether this law should go into effect.
The Legislature also stopped tax dollars from going to Planned Parenthood while increasing funds to rural and community health centers that provide more comprehensive services for women. With the published findings of the Senate’s Interim Committee on the Sanctity of Life and the release of appalling Planned Parenthood videos last year, I support the Legislature’s decision to fund our community health centers instead of Planned Parenthood.
The Senate also made protecting religious liberty a priority, enduring a historic filibuster and passing Senate Joint Resolution 39. While some misrepresented SJR 39 as discriminatory, the amendment would have provided protection for pastors, religious organizations and a very small segment of business owners from being penalized by government. A major disappointment was the defeat of this legislation in a House committee before House members had the opportunity to debate its merits and vote on it, denying the people of Missouri the opportunity to vote to protect religious liberty. We have seen business owners in other states prosecuted and sued out of business for refusing to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. Missourians will now likely suffer the same government atrocities without the protections that SJR 39 would have afforded.
The final day of session saw the passage of constitutional carry in Missouri. The bill seeks to allow those with a clean background to carry a gun without a permit in the state in areas where doing so is not expressly prohibited. Our Second Amendment right is crucial to freedom, and law-abiding citizens should have the ability to protect themselves.
Finally, military veterans and our armed forces also received state lawmakers’ attention. Legislation allowing individuals to deduct income earned through active military duty from their Missouri adjusted gross income passed this session, along with a bill that would allow members of the National Guard and reserve components of the Armed Forces to receive in-state residency for the purposes of college tuition.
Thank you for reading this legislative report. You can contact my office at (573) 751-2108 if you have any questions. Thank you and we welcome your prayers for the proper application of state government.