Common Sense Legislation
This is the final week bills may be introduced in the Missouri Senate during the 2019 legislative session. After this week, lawmakers will have a clear view of the legislative tasks set before us. A number of notable bills moved forward this week.
Senate Bill 265
This week I appeared before the Senate Education Committee to present a proposal that I’ve supported for more than a decade. Senate Bill 265 creates a voting student curator position on the University of Missouri’s Board of Curators, replacing the current non-voting student representative on the nine-member board. I first advocated for this change in 2008, when I served as the student representative on the Board of Curators, the governing body for the four-campus university system. As a student at the MU School of Law, I testified in the same Senate hearing room for a similar bill that overwhelmingly passed both chambers of the General Assembly, only to be vetoed by the governor.
Since my time at Mizzou, student fees and tuition have become the primary source of funding for the University of Missouri, and now account for more than 50 percent of the university’s revenue. If the university were a private corporation, students would be the majority shareholders and be entitled to more than half the seats on the board. My legislation doesn’t go that far, but it does provide the student body with more effective representation by granting a student curator a vote in board decisions.
I was proud to see students from each of the University of Missouri’s four campuses appear before the committee and join in my call for this long-overdue change.
Senate Bill 7
The Missouri Senate saw its first extended filibuster this week, as a group of legislators opposed to Senate Bill 7 maintained control of the chamber for 14 hours. During the overnight session, lawmakers crafted compromise legislation to reform rules relating to “joinder and venue” in civil court proceedings.
It’s a complex area of law that has challenged Missouri lawmakers for a number of years. The legislation seeks to address the strains placed on Missouri’s courts from lawsuits that have little or nothing to do with our state or its residents. Missouri courts, particularly those in St. Louis city have attracted a large number of out-of-state plaintiffs. “Joinder” occurs when attorneys file a suit involving one Missouri plaintiff and bundle other cases with it in the same venue they believe will be sympathetic. The result is a clogged court system and unnecessary expense for Missouri taxpayers.
Missouri passed legislation to deal with the issue in 2005, but the problem still exists. A recent court decision by the Missouri Supreme Court provided guidance and prompted the Senate to finally find common ground. The Senate began perfecting the language of SB 7 at the start of Tuesday’s afternoon session and did not conclude its work until 6 a.m. the following morning.
I was honored to contribute my experience as an attorney and participate in drafting the compromise bill language. When the sun rose on the Missouri State Capitol Wednesday morning, we had arrived at a mutually agreeable bill that will lessen the burdens placed on Missouri’s courts, while protecting access to the judicial process for our state’s residents.
Senate Bill 297
Legislation that received a “do pass” vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee this week would allow Missouri residents, age 75 or older, to opt-out of serving on petit or grand juries. Senate Bill 297 does not exclude anyone from jury duty, but it does allow older Missourians to be excused, if they prefer not to serve.
Senate Bill 155
This week the Senate Committee on Seniors, Family and Children reconsidered and voted to pass my Senate Bill 155, which creates the Narcotics Control Act and establishes a statewide prescription drug monitoring program, or PDMP, in Missouri. A statewide system to track prescriptions provides physicians and pharmacists a powerful tool to combat opioid addiction. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a statewide PDMP.
More than 950 Missourians lost their lives in 2017 due to overdoses of opioid drugs. That’s one out of every 65 deaths in the state. Creating a statewide PDMP will help identify patients who struggle with addiction and enable health care professionals to intervene and save lives.
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.