The Second Regular Session of the 100th General Assembly officially began last Wednesday, Jan. 8, and I am excited to be back in Jefferson City for a new legislative session. I look forward to working with my fellow senators on several important issues.
Committee hearings began this week, and one of my bills, Senate Bill 572, was heard by the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee on Thursday, Jan. 16. Senate Bill 572 establishes the “Community Crime Reduction Grant Program” to assist understaffed police departments by using grant money to lower the cost of recruiting and training police officers. Departments across the state are severely understaffed, and this leads to longer emergency response times and fewer resources available to officers to protect our communities. It is unacceptable to me that police departments are understaffed, and I filed this legislation to provide them with the funds they need to hire and train new police officers.
I also filed Senate Bill 880 this week. This legislation creates the position of Chief Data Officer, who will oversee each state agency’s electronic data to evaluate the management and security of the data. This officer may require state agencies to develop and adopt plans to respond to data breaches and the proper disposal of the agency’s electronic data. It is especially important to have these plans in place because some state agencies must store sensitive information about constituents, and it is imperative to ensure this data is secure and disposed of properly if necessary.
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the grand opening of the Columbia Excel Center. This important institution gives adults the opportunity to earn their high school diploma. The Columbia location is the fourth Goodwill Excel Center in Missouri and serves 200 students. The Excel Centers are free and provide adults with the education and support they need to earn their diploma. I am excited to watch this center grow and provide more opportunities to individuals in our community.
On Friday, Jan. 10, Oakland Middle School teacher Melissa Fike received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation. Ms. Fike is the only Missouri recipient of this national award, and it is certainly well deserved. She is the chairwoman of the school’s math department and has worked in Columbia Public Schools since 2006. I am proud of her accomplishments and wish her the best of luck in her career.
Now, I want to discuss some national news with you. In December, Congress passed legislation significantly changing federal law regarding retirement savings. The SECURE Act, Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement, was signed into law by the president on Dec. 20. I wanted to give you a brief overview of a few of the biggest changes achieved in this legislation. The SECURE Act ends the prohibition on contributing to an individual retirement account (IRA) after age 70 ½, allows a penalty-free withdrawal of up to $5,000 from an IRA or employee-sponsored retirement plan for birth and/or adoption expenses, allows part-time workers to participate in a 401(k) plan, establishes that assets in 529 plans can be used to repay up to $10,000 in student loans and establishes provisions to make it easier for small business owners to offer retirement plans. The provisions in this bill are especially important to individuals in or nearing retirement, new parents and small business owners and employees, so I encourage you to read more about this legislation to learn how it will affect you.
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I am here to serve you, and my office door is always open to your questions, concerns and suggestions. You can reach my staff at 573-751-3931, and you can visit www.senate.mo.gov/rowden for an array of legislative and constituent resources.