Weekly Column for March 28, 2019
The Missouri Senate has returned from its annual mid-session recess and is ready to begin the second half of the legislative session. The Legislature has until May 17 at 6 p.m. to complete its work and send all truly agreed to and finally passed bills to the governor’s desk for his consideration.
One of the first actions taken by the Missouri Senate, upon returning to the State Capitol, was to discuss what is known as the “Consent Calendar.” The Senate rules establish a certain procedure to deal with this type of legislation, and these measures are considered to be non-controversial.
For legislation to become a consent bill, the senator sponsoring the bill must submit, to the chairman of the committee their bill was referred to, notice of their desire for that bill to be considered a consent bill. The rules require that this take place at least one day prior to the committee’s hearing. Bills on the consent calendar cannot increase state expenditures by more than $100,000; reduce net revenues by $100,000; increase existing civil or criminal penalties; or create new civil or criminal penalties. Next, the legislation needs to receive a unanimous affirmative vote of “do pass” by all committee members present during its hearing.
Once the bill has passed out of committee, it is placed on the Senate’s “Consent Calendar,” and must sit on it for five legislative days before it can be third read and finally passed. While it is sitting on the calendar, any senator or the Committee on Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics is able to submit a written objection to the secretary of the Senate and have the bill’s consent status revoked. Another important detail to remember about this process is that consent bills may not be amended once they are discussed on the floor of the Senate.
Here are a few of the consent bills we approved this week:
Senate Bill 147 – Did you know your license plates expire the month before the date on your license plate? This means if your plate is marked June, it actually expires on May 31—not June 30. This longstanding confusion has lead the Department of Revenue and the Highway Patrol to stop penalizing people for the first month. SB 147 permanently codifies that grace period into law and protects unsuspecting Missourians from fines and fees.
Senate Bill 179 – Current law requires financial institutions to file multiple copies of various forms and documents with multiple state agencies. SB 179 repeals those requirements and, instead, requires only a single filing of each form or document currently required—eliminating waste and saving time and money.
It has been a busy week in the State Capitol, and these consent bills show that the Senate has prioritized streamlining government to make it more efficient for the people of Missouri.
It is an honor to serve you in the Missouri Senate. Please do not hesitate to contact my office at (573) 751-3678 or by email at dave.schatz@senate.mo.gov if you have any questions.