Legislative Actions and Information for the Week of Feb. 4, 2019
| On The Floor
This week, the Missouri General Assembly truly agreed to and finally passed its first piece of legislation for the 2019 session. The Missouri Senate took up and passed House Bill 488, which names a section of road in St. Louis County after Missouri State Rep. Cloria Brown, who passed away in March of 2018 due to cancer. She was a hard-working and dedicated public servant, who most notably fought against texting while driving and human trafficking in our state. Bills and Committees One of the major issues this year the Missouri General Assembly is hoping to tackle is the establishment of a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). Missouri is the only state in the country without a PDMP, which is a database that would allow doctors to track controlled substance prescriptions in the state. The thought behind PDMPs is that it would help prevent “doctor shopping,” where individuals visit multiple doctors for multiple prescriptions of controlled substances, and help in the fight against the opioid epidemic. This week, the Missouri Senate’s Senior, Family and Children voted on a PDMP bill, Senate Bill 155. This bill failed to receive enough supporting votes to move out of committee. While the bill appears to be dead, there is a chance this legislation could be reconsidered at a later date. Additionally, Sen. Nasheed’s Senate Bill 261, which protects TANF benefits for those who legally use medical marijuana, was referred to the Senate’s Seniors, Families and Children Committee this week. Appropriations The Senate Appropriations Committee continues to hear testimony from state departments about their financial needs for the next fiscal year. Next week, the committee will be hearing testimony from the following departments: · Office of Administration; · Department of Economic Development; · Department of Agriculture; · Department of Health & Senior Services; · Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration; · Department of Natural Resources; · Department of Revenue; · Department of Social Services; · Department of Economic Development; · Department of Labor & Industrial Relations; and · Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration. |