Greetings,

The Missouri Senate is quickly approaching the final weeks of the 2019 legislative session, which ends on Friday, May 17. Recently, several of my sponsored bills and resolutions have made significant progress through the legislative process. As the session winds down, I will continue to advocate for these pieces of legislation, doing my best to push as many of them as possible across the finish line.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 4 has been approved by the Senate and is now making its way through the committee process in the House of Representatives. The measure, which I have written about before, designates the Kansas City Chiefs as Missouri’s official NFL team. SCR 4 honors the economic and cultural impact the Chiefs have made in our state, recognizing the team’s history of giving back to the local community. After making it this far in the legislative process, I believe it has a strong chance of becoming law.

The Senate has placed Senate Bill 342 on the formal calendar of Senate bills for perfection, meaning the body has every intention of bringing the measure up for debate in the full Senate. This bill designates two new memorial highways: Sen. Paula J. Carter Memorial Highway in St. Louis and Sen. Phil B. Curls Memorial Highway in Kansas City. These senators were two of Missouri’s most respected African-American leaders in the State Legislature, where they served their respective constituencies, and the entire state, with dignity and grace. To this day, the legacies of Sens. Carter and Curls are still held in very high regard by the residents of Missouri’s two largest cities. I think it is more than fitting that we remember their service by establishing memorial highways in their honor.

The Senate has placed Senate Bill 1 and Senate Bill 3 on the informal calendar of Senate bills for perfection, meaning the body may choose to take these bills up for debate in the near future, but nothing is guaranteed. SB 1 changes state statute to allow potential expungement for some nonviolent crimes, including property damage in the first degree, stealing, possession of a forging instrumentality and fraudulent use of a credit device or debit device. This bill is about second chances for those who have made mistakes in the past, but have been on the straight and narrow ever since. I believe it will encourage perpetrators of relatively minor offenses to reform and improve their lives.

SB 3, on the other hand, allows good Samaritans to secure and clean abandoned property without risk of legal consequences. I believe this bill simply codifies common sense, letting individuals with good intentions do what is within their power to counteract urban decay. Both SB 1 and SB 3 have the potential to increase opportunity and enhance the quality of life of many Missourians.

Another of my bills on the Senate’s informal calendar is Senate Bill 225, which modifies nuisance reporting procedures. Following notification of a nuisance emanating from their property, property owners currently have 60 days to eliminate the nuisance. SB 225 lowers that requirement to 45 days. The bill also abolishes the stipulation that property owners and neighborhood associations must prove actual damages to win injunctive relief from owners of a nuisance-causing property.

Like SB 3, I believe SB 225 will strengthen urban areas. The measure is designed to protect the property rights of those who, through no fault of their own, are suffering from nearby nuisance conditions — such as trash, broken glass, scattered debris, deteriorating brickwork and more — many of which are caused by run-down and abandoned properties. SB 225 would increase the safety and stability of urban neighborhoods, improving the living conditions of many of those who are affected by nuisance property.

Below, you will find a chart tracking the progress of each bill I have sponsored during the 2019 legislative session. I believe these proposals are important to Missourians of all backgrounds, and I look forward to discussing each and every one of them before the Missouri Senate.

Please know I value your input, and I invite you to visit my Capitol office, located in Room 225, if you are ever in Jefferson City. You may access my Senate website at senate.mo.gov/curls.