Legislative Actions and Information for the Week of May 7, 2018
| As the end of the 2018 legislative session nears, the Missouri General Assembly continues to put its stamp of approval on numerous pieces of legislation intended to make Missouri a better place to live, work and raise a family.
On The Floor Despite the ongoing legal issues surrounding Missouri’s executive branch, the General Assembly continues to move forward with several pieces of legislation. Recently, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 793 which raises the age of adulthood from 17 to 18 in regard to criminal offenses. Additionally, the bill contains language from Sen. Nasheed that allows for those who were sex trafficked against their will and later charged with prostitution, to apply to have those charges expunged. After applying for the charges to be expunged, a court will determine if in fact the individual was coerced by another person into committing the crime. “This is a good day for Missouri’s criminal justice system. Not only did we raise the age to keep children from being sent to dangerous prisons, but we also protected the victims of sex trafficking,” said Sen. Nasheed. “This bill provides a path forward for victims to move on with their lives without the taint of sex trafficking following them as they find jobs and apply for housing. If you were trafficked against your will, you are not a criminal, but a crime was committed against you.” The Missouri General Assembly also approved Sen. Nasheed’s Senate Bill 652, which specifies the Office of the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis as a law enforcement agency, and the sheriff and their sworn deputies are law enforcement officers who are eligible for peace officer standards and training (POST) certification. This distinction will provide additional training to the sheriff and their deputies, and it will also allow them to access grants and other resources for their department. On May 3, the Missouri General Assembly truly agreed to and finally passed House Bill 2015, a supplemental spending bill. This bill allocates an additional $10 million to the Missouri Department of Economic Development’s community block grant program. These funds are used to provide community facilities such as senior centers, technical education facilities, training facilities, day care centers, community centers, sheltered workshops, recycling facilities, youth centers, 911 facilities, rural health clinics, shared spaces for the purposes of business development, group homes and transitional housing including special needs housing. Almost every county in the state has projects that fall under this program, meaning that this one bill will provide additional funds to help build local communities all across Missouri. On May 1, the Missouri General Assembly approved House Bill 1500, which reforms the licensure and registration for hair braiders. Under this bill, hair braiders would no longer be required to have 1,500 hours of training in order to obtain a required cosmetology license. Instead, applicants would simply need to register with the state, pay a fee and watch a four to six hour instructional video. These reforms remove many of the unnecessary burdens and barriers placed by the state on hair braiders over the years. Additionally, HB 1500 puts in place protections that prevents the state from regulating “previously unregulated” occupations and professions to the point where they impose a substantial burden on an individual’s pursuit of that occupation, unless the regulations are needed to protect public safety and welfare. Senator Nasheed followed this bill closely and added language to help barbers while it was in the Missouri Senate. The legislation removes the five-year apprentice training requirement. It also removes the five-year limit on training recognized by the Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners. She is glad to see both sides of the aisle work together in order to better serve hardworking Missourians. Bills and Committees As the final days of the legislative session near, several of Sen. Nasheed’s legislative priorities continue to move through the legislative process. Senate Bill 652 – This legislation allows deputies with the Office of the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis to be Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certified. This bill was truly agreed to and finally passed by the Missouri General Assembly. The bill now heads to the governor for final approval. Senate Bill 785 – This bill creates the Coordinating Board for Mental Health Issues in Higher Education. The board would be tasked with establishing guidelines and regulations for student counseling facilities. This language has been amended onto House Bill 1419, which requires certain health care professionals to complete two hours of suicide prevention training as a condition of licensure. House Bill 1419, with the amended language, was heard in the Senate’s Professional Registration Committee on April 23. Senate Bill 788 – This bill requires course materials being taught in schools dealing with human sexuality to explore the issues of sexual harassment, sexual violence and consent. This language was added into House Bill 1606, which has returned to the Missouri House after being amended by the Senate. It was recently approved by the House’s Fiscal Review Committee. Senate Bill 792 – This bill allows those who were forced into sex trafficking and prostitution against their will to apply to have those charges expunged from their records. Senator Nasheed’s SB 792 was amended onto Senate Bill 793, which raises the age of adulthood from 17 to 18 with regard to criminal offenses. This bill was approved by the Missouri General Assembly on May 10 and now heads to the governor for final approval. Senate Bill 802 – This bill awards “women’s business enterprise” and “minority business enterprise” statuses to certain nonprofit corporations. It is waiting for approval by the Missouri House. Senate Bill 803 – This bill prohibits the use of shackles on pregnant offenders during transportation, medical visits and labor. Senate Bill 803 was amended onto Senate Bill 870, which was sent to the Missouri House of Representatives for consideration. The House passed a modified version of SB 870, and returned it to the Senate. It is now in a conference committee to reach a compromise on the differences between the House and Senate versions. Additionally, SB 803’s language is included in House Bill 2026, which was approved by the Senate’s Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. Senate Bill 804 – This proposal reauthorizes the Donated Food Tax Credit until December 31, 2026. This language has been amended onto House Bill 1288 and House Bill 1796, both of which are waiting for further approval from the Missouri Senate. Senate Bill 925 – This legislative proposal addresses property tax issues surrounding urban and community gardens. It has been combined with Senate Bill 627, which has been sent to the Missouri House. The combined bills were recently approved by the House Rules – Legislative Oversight Committee. Appropriations Over the past two weeks, the Missouri Senate and the House of Representatives have worked together to reach a compromise on several spending items that differed in their proposed budgets. On Wednesday, May 9, the Missouri General Assembly passed the state’s $28 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year. Senator Nasheed, while working with colleagues in the Missouri House and Senate, was successful in bringing over $14 million to the City of St. Louis. This funding will benefit programs such as Mission St. Louis, Annie Malone, Midtown, Harris-Stowe State University, apprenticeship programs, nursing salaries for veteran’s homes, Domestic Violence for Battered Women, summer youth job programs and a behavioral health pilot program. Other News Special Session Explanation The General Assembly has called a special session to pursue possible disciplinary action against the governor, which includes the possibility of impeachment. This process would be unprecedented in Missouri history. For this reason, Sen. Nasheed feels it is important for her constituents to know how this process may play out. Six Initiative Petitions Seek Spots on November Ballot Missourians may have the opportunity to decide on six ballot initiatives this November after supporters of the various measures submitted their initiative petitions to the Secretary of State’s Office. One proposal raises the state’s current minimum wage of $7.85 an hour by 85 cents each year until it reaches $12 an hour. Another proposal amends the Missouri Constitution to establish a nonpartisan system for drawing new House and Senate districts; imposes a two-year prohibition on lawmakers or their staff from working as lobbyists after leaving office or employment; bans lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and their staff and caps individual campaign contributions at $2,500 for state senate candidates and $2,000 for state house candidates. Additionally, there are four marijuana measures including three constitutional amendments and one proposed change to state law. Three of these proposals call for the legalization of marijuana only for medicinal purposes while the fourth, one of the constitutional amendments, would legalize marijuana for both medical and recreational use. If all of these measures make it to the ballot and are approved by voters, the constitutional amendments would trump the statutory change to state law. If conflicting amendments are ratified, the one receiving the most “yes” votes would prevail. The secretary of state has until Aug. 14 to determine if each petition has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. Roughly 100,000 signatures are required for a statutory proposition while about 160,000 signatures are needed for a constitutional amendment. Senate Defeats Municipal Court Changes On May 1, the Missouri Senate voted against legislation seeking to rollback portions of sweeping 2015 municipal court reforms that were intended to curb abusive practices, especially in the St. Louis area. The 2015 law, enacted in the wake of social unrest in Ferguson, imposed restrictions on how much revenue cities can derive from municipal court fines and fees and made other changes aimed at eliminating what critics had dubbed “taxation by citation.” Senate Bill 553, which was voted down in the Senate, attempted to remove statutory caps on the fine municipalities can levy for minor traffic violations or ordinance violations. The legislation also gave give municipal judges more authority to punish defendants who fail to appear for a court date and it allowed cities to impose fees on defendants who are sentenced to community service instead of paying their fine. Senate Moves to Modify Merit System The Missouri Senate approved Senate Bill 1007. This legislation is intended to modify the merit system to make most state government workers at-will employees. Supporters say reducing merit system protections would give the state government greater flexibility to reward high-performing employees and fire subpar workers. Opponents noted Missouri’s state government workers are already the lowest-paid, on average, in the nation and that eliminating many workplace protections would make it even harder for the state to attract and retain good employees. The merit system is intended to protect rank-and-file state workers in non-political jobs from being hired or fired based on political considerations. The legislation now heads to the Missouri House of Representatives and has been referred to the House General Laws Committee. House Committee Releases Second Report On May 2, the House Special Investigative Committee on Oversight released its second report on the governor’s alleged misuse of a donor list. The House Investigative Committee alleges the governor took a donor list from his veteran’s charity, the Mission Continues and used it for political purposes, in violation of state law. The report also alleges the governor mislead the Missouri Ethics Commission. House Approves Limited Medical Marijuana Bill On May 1, the Missouri House of Representatives voted 112-44 to send legislation to the Missouri Senate to allow marijuana to be legally used for limited medical purposes. House Bill 1554 would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana only to terminally ill patients and those suffering from certain debilitating diseases. House Approves Israel Boycott Ban The Missouri House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation that would prohibit state and local governments from awarding contracts to businesses that refuse to do business with Israel. Supporters of House Bill 2179 say it shows support for an important trading partner, while opponents argue it violates freedom of speech by denying government contracts to businesses expressing their own political speech. The bill was recently approved by the Senate’s Government Reform Committee and now heads to the Senate Floor for discussion. Jury Selection Begins for Governor’s Trial Jury selection in the governor’s trial on a felony charge of first degree invasion of privacy is underway in St. Louis. With a pool of 160 potential jurors, jury selection was expected to take at least two days with the trial’s opening arguments scheduled to begin no earlier than May 14. Changes Comes to Transition Center of St. Louis The Transition Center of St. Louis has been experiencing a number of changes at its facility. The Transition Center provides housing and transitional programming to men released from the Division of Adult Institutions or under community supervision in need of additional services. The center’s instructional programs and other resources are meant to help residents develop the skills and knowledge to successfully transition into the community and live a civil, sober and productive life. Senator Nasheed is looking to tour the facility to see the changes that was made in the near future. |