At 6 p.m. today, the First Regular Session of the 99th General Assembly will officially conclude. Although not unusual by any means, this last week of session has been somewhat frantic, with lawmakers in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle trying to move their priority measures across the finish line before the final gavel falls.
It is during these long, hectic days — when most are feeling the fatigue of session and tensions tend to run high — that legislation quickly evolves as amendments get piled on. There is much to look at in a very brief amount of time; at the end of the day, it simply wouldn’t be possible to stay on top of everything if I didn’t have such a great staff working alongside me. I want to thank Dan Hutton and Karen Jacquin, my Senate staff, whose dedication to serving the citizens of the 3rd District is simply outstanding. I would also like to thank our session interns, Duane Price III and Connor Staponski, for all of their hard work, and I wish them great future success.
To my constituents, it has once again been an honor to serve as your voice in the Missouri Legislature. Please know your opinions and feedback provide invaluable input and are essential to helping me be an effective public servant. So thank you for your calls, emails, letters and messages on social media. In that same vein, I want to thank members of the media for covering my legislation and the general goings-on at the Capitol. The work of the Fourth Estate is paramount to a functioning democracy, and I appreciate your dedication to keeping our citizens informed.
There remain several measures I sponsored, such as my higher education legislation and my community college signage bill, which I hope to see passed yet today. There may only be a few hours left in session, but that’s still plenty of time for us to cross a few more important items off our lists. Be on the lookout for next week’s Capitol Update, when I’ll recap all the highlights of the 2017 legislative session.
Contact Me
I always appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4008. You may write me at Gary Romine, Missouri Senate, State Capitol, Jefferson City, MO 65101; or email me at gary.romine@senate.mo.gov.