Legislative Actions and Information for the Week of May 21, 2018
| The 2018 legislative session ended On May 18. The last week of session often consists of a mad dash to get legislation passed through both chambers. Often legislation passed by one chamber will end up returning with amendments from the other chamber and then must be passed again from the chamber of origin. With hundreds of bills attempting to make their way through the legislative process, the last few days often contain a flurry of legislative action. This legislative update is meant to provide Sen. Nasheed’s constituents with a brief recap of the work accomplished during the final week of session.
On The Floor Several of Sen. Nasheed’s legislative priorities made it through the legislative process during the final week of session, either as stand-alone bills or as amendments. This session, Sen. Nasheed was able to pass legislation intended to strengthen sex education in Missouri schools. She added an amendment to House Bill 1606, an education bill passed by the Missouri General Assembly that now requires human sexuality courses to provide information about consent. “Right now, our schools are doing a pretty good job of teaching students sexual education, but they can and should be doing more. Currently, Missouri requires schools to cover eight subjects when they teach sex education, and I believe it’s missing one crucial point: consent,” said Sen. Nasheed. “A huge problem for our students is not knowing what consent sounds like or looks like. Many of our students are not being adequately taught about sexual harassment, sexual violence or consent. This bill ensures that students are not left in the dark when they desire to voice their consent.” Additionally, one of Sen. Nasheed’s priorities was to help strengthen the Office of the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis. Senator Nasheed was able to amend House Bill 1355 to include her legislative allowing the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis to hire an undersheriff or deputy sheriff who is a resident of an adjoining state. This provision will allow the police force to have access to a pool of candidates who were previously ineligible simply because of where they live. Additionally, the legislation allows the Sheriff of the City of St. Louis to be Peace Officer Standards and Training certification, which will give them access to grants and additional training to help serve the community. The Missouri General Assembly passed House Bill 1288 dealing with a host of benevolent tax credits. Included in the bill was a provision extending the donated food tax credit until 2026, which is the same language as Sen. Nasheed’s Senate Bill 804. This was a priority for Sen. Nasheed. Now that HB 1288 has passed, it will deliver assistance to numerous organizations serving Missourians. Another House bill was approved during the last week of session that included language supported by Sen. Nasheed. House Bill 2562 specifies that when a circuit court clerk is a party to a suit or action, the writ of summons and all other processes shall be issued by the clerk of the county commission. Senator Nasheed’s amendment exempts circuit clerks from this if they are named a party in a case dealing with expungement of criminal records. While numerous bills that Sen. Nasheed supported were passed this session, some bills she opposed also passed. For instance, the General Assembly passed House Bill 2540, a tax bill which Sen. Nasheed believes will end up devastating the state’s bottom line. This bill has been in several forms over the course of the legislative session. During the final days of session, this bill was stripped of hundreds of pages of provisions down to just nine. The final version of the legislation lowers the top individual income tax bracket down to 5.5 percent, beginning next year, and then lowers the rate down to 5.1 percent if certain revenue projections are met. The bill aims to increase revenue by removing personal exemption deductions. It is important to note, the plan is expected to reduce the amount of state revenue over the course of several years. Senator Nasheed opposed the bill, believing it did not offer real benefits to her constituents. Instead, it would end up costing the state vital resources it needs to provide essential services to its most vulnerable citizens. At a time when the state is struggling to provide services, Sen. Nasheed does not believe it is responsible to further reduce state revenue. Senator Nasheed is committed to ensuring the state is in a healthy fiscal condition, and she does not believe this legislation gets the state were it needs to be. Despite the objections voiced by Sen. Nasheed and others, the bill was approved by the General Assembly. Senator Nasheed voted against several of the labor bills that were brought before the Missouri Senate. In addition, she opposed House Bill 1729, which amends the state’s prevailing wage law. She believes changing prevailing wage will only result in lower wages for hardworking, blue-collar workers. Senator Nasheed also opposed House Bill 1413. She believes this to be another anti-labor bill that harms the working class. By forcing union workers to recertify their union every few years and give consent for their due collections every, the state is placing undue burdens on these workers and their right to organize. Both of these measures, which were opposed by Sen. Nasheed, were approved by the Missouri General Assembly. Another bill Sen. Nasheed opposed was Senate Bill 590. This legislation lowers the amount of tax credits available through the state’s Historic Preservation Tax Credit. Senator Nasheed believes very strongly in this tax program. She has seen the power of this program to revitalize and reinvigorate local economies. She believes the legislature should not be reduce the Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program, especially when the yearly demand often nears the program’s current cap and voted against the measure. Bills and Committees 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 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 was approved by the Missouri General Assembly on May 15. 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. Senate Bill 802 was truly agreed to and finally passed by the General Assembly. Senate Bill 803 – This proposal prohibits correctional facilities and jails from using shackles on pregnant offenders during transportation, medical visits and labor. Senate Bill 803 was amended onto Senate Bill 870 and only applied to the Department of Corrections. Senate Bill 870 was truly agreed to and finally passed on May 15. Senate Bill 804 – This proposal reauthorizes the Donated Food Tax Credit until December 31, 2026. This language has been amended onto House Bill 1288, which was approved by the Missouri General Assembly. Senate Bill 925 – This legislative proposal addresses property tax issues surrounding urban and community gardens. It was combined with Senate Bill 627 and truly agreed to and finally passed. Appropriations 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 End of Session Report In the coming weeks, Sen. Nasheed will be sending out an End of Session report to homes in the district recapping the 2018 legislative session. |