Working for the Citizens
Another week passed at the Missouri State Capitol and lawmakers are settled into a regular pattern of morning committee hearings, meetings with constituents throughout the day and floor sessions that continue well into the evening. I am continuously amazed by the scope of issues the Senate addresses.
In the Committee on General Laws we heard testimony on a number of bills this week. One measure would expand Missouri’s current prohibition against sanctuary city policies to include all levels of local government. Current law requires municipalities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities when they identify undocumented aliens in their community. Senate Bill 64 places that same expectation on county governments.
Another bill that came before the General Laws Committee dealt with the Amber Alert program. This is the statewide system of broadcasts that enlists the help of citizens to locate abducted children. Senate Bill 145 integrates the current Amber Alert system into MULES, the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System, and REJIS, or Regional Justice Information Services. Named “Hailey’s Law” in honor of a child who tragically lost her life during an abduction, the bill will ensure that reports of kidnappings reach the public sooner, so that victims can be rescued.
There is also a bill, Senate Bill 132, moving through the Senate that would roll back the applicability of some Sunshine Law provisions to the legislature that voters approved in November. The legislation, in its current form, would exempt communications between lawmakers “regarding proposed legislation or the legislative process” from public disclosure. I opposed that provision in the Government Reform Committee and offered an amendment to strip the language from the bill. That amendment was defeated, but I intend to air my objections on the Senate floor when the bill comes before the entire body. I believe that those of us who seek public office should expect our communications to be open to disclosure.
Finally, early this week, one of my colleagues offered Senate Bill 21 in support of a small community in his district. The town had passed a quarter percent sales tax increase to fund a school resource officer. The tax was overturned by the Department of Revenue because Missouri law only provides three options for sales tax hikes: a half percent, .875 percent or a whole percent increase. The senator’s request for an exemption prompted a lengthy debate that kept lawmakers in the chamber until late in the evening.
I offered an amendment to the bill to allow a similar provision for the City of Riverside, a community of roughly 3,000 people in the southern part of the 34th Senatorial District. Another legislator followed with an amendment for a town in his district. Before the night was through, the Senate arrived at a compromise that simplified Missouri tax law – allowing communities to vote for any size increase up to 1 percent, rather than forcing municipalities to increase taxes more than they need. We did not vote to raise these communities’ taxes. We simply made it possible for them to determine their own tax rates, even if they need less than current law allows. The taxes authorized under the bill would have to be approved by voters and are limited to supporting law enforcement and public safety. If this bill makes it through the process, communities will have a greater ability to set their own rates, and Missouri’s law will make a bit more sense.
It is my great honor to represent the citizens of Platte and Buchanan counties in the Missouri Senate. Please contact my office at 573-751-2183, or visit www.senate.mo.gov/luetkemeyer.