This week the Senate continued working through our perfection and consent calendars and we were able to send several bills on to the House for consideration. Below are some of the consent bills the Senate worked on, including my own Senate Bill 225:
- Senate Bill 25, which would allow the Kansas City Chief of Police to appoint a lieutenant colonel to be responsible for issues regarding Homeland Security. This bill passed through my Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee.
- Senate Bill 217, would expand the $2,500 food pantry tax credit to include food or cash donated to local soup kitchens or local homeless shelters in the taxpayer’s area of residence.
- Senate Bill 225, which would change vehicle length regulations and allow for operation of articulated buses up to 60 feet in length, not including safety bumpers and bicycle storage racks. This is my bill and I am carrying it because these kinds of buses are already in use in the St. Louis public transit system.
- Senate Bill 322 would name a section of U.S. Interstate Highway 55 from U.S. Highway 61 at exit 170 continuing north to the U.S. Highway 61 overpasses Interstate Highway 55 in Jefferson County the “USMA Cadet Thomas M. Surdyke Memorial Highway”. Cadet Surdyke died while saving a fellow citizen from drowning and I was glad to move this bill quickly through my Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee.
All four of these bills have been passed out of the Senate and now head to the House for consideration.
A consent bill typically meets little resistance and easily moves through the legislative process. The first requirement of a consent bill is the responsibility of the bill sponsor. If the sponsor is seeking “consent” status for a piece of legislation, a request must be made in writing to the chairman or chairwoman of the originating committee. This tells the chair the sponsor does not believe the legislation is controversial; the fiscal note costs the state no more than $100,000; and it does not contain any penalty provisions.
Once the bill is heard by the committee, it is handled as regular legislation, amended and voted on by the committee members. However, once approved, a second vote is required in which all committee members must vote unanimously to approve consent status. A single “no” vote from the committee prevents the bill from being a consent bill.
Two additional rules help consent bills move through the legislative process quickly, and both pertain to floor debate. In both the Senate and House, amendments are prohibited from being offered. Any change to the language of a consent bill must occur before floor debate, in the original committee where the bill was heard. Both Senate and House rules state that no House consent bill will be placed on the Senate Calendar after April 15.
Once the House and Senate Truly Agree and Finally Pass a piece of legislation, it heads to the governor’s desk for his signature or veto.
In other news, I hosted fellow Senator and Sportsmen Caucus Co-Chair Jason Holsman and his father and son for the opening day of trout season at Meramec Springs. This is one of my favorite hunting traditions and I was glad to share the experience.
Thank you for reading this weekly column. Please contact my office at (573) 751-3678 if you have any questions.