General Assembly Concludes 2018 Legislative Session
Like many states, Missouri has a part-time legislature. That means lawmakers, rather than meeting year-round, only convene for a few months each year to consider legislation. This is supposed to help with two things. First, this allows lawmakers to have jobs outside of their official legislative duties. Members of the Missouri General Assembly are doctors, lawyers, business-owners, accountants, farmers and more. This ensures those making the law in our state are representative of the public they serve. Second, a part-time legislature is a bulwark against big government. When lawmakers have less time to consider new laws, it generally prevents them from over-legislating — and thus infringing on their constituents’ natural liberty.
On May 18, the General Assembly officially concluded the 2018 legislative session, which began in January. During the final days of session, we managed to pass several proposals important to the functioning of our state. For example, the Senate and House of Representatives approved House Bill 1872, filed by myself and Rep. Delus Johnson, which will help expand the access of rural broadband across Missouri. This bill will create an opportunity for the state to draw down federal dollars and appropriate state monies to further expand broadband access.
Additionally, the legislature passed House Bill 2540, a measure reforming the state income tax. Starting next year, many individuals and businesses will, pending the governor’s approval, see a reduction in the amount of money they send to Jefferson City. As one of the final acts of this General Assembly, I couldn’t be happier with this bill’s passage. In the coming weeks I plan to expand more on the bills the General Assembly passed this session in this column. Despite many outside distractions, this session was by far the most productive of the four years I’ve served in the Senate.
As always, please feel free to call, email or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.