In my years as an elected official, I do not believe I have seen anything as head-turning as the past two months. In my opinion, the Legislature had to take the negative of the coronavirus and quickly try to turn it into a positive, in the form of helping people adversely affected by the pandemic. This meant having to rewrite a budget in a matter of days, as well as move our legislative focus in a different direction.
There are quite a few measures that made it to the finish line this session, including Senate Bill 631. This would allow certain state employees to run for elected office, and was brought to my attention by someone who lives here in northwest Missouri. Senate Bill 632 and House Bill 1768 encourage broadband Internet expansion throughout rural Missouri, something I have been working on for years. Similar legislation has also been successfully amended to several other bills. Senate Joint Resolution 38 passed out of the Senate early in session, and was recently approved by the Missouri House of Representatives. This proposed constitutional amendment, if passed, will attempt to limit the influence of special interests by banning lobbyist gifts and decreasing campaign contribution limits, as well as return the state’s legislative redistricting process into the hands of an independent, bipartisan, citizen-led commission. In addition, the Legislature passed the budget on time. Lawmakers also renewed hospital Medicaid reimbursements, something that I believe is critically important to some of our most at-risk people here in Missouri.
Like so many of us, I am praying for an end to this crisis and a return to our “normal” way of life in rural Missouri. If nothing else, we have learned to be self-sufficient and have been reminded of the importance of treating each other kindly and with respect. I look forward to seeing more people out and about as we head into summer. Once again, thank you for letting me serve you in the Missouri Senate.
As always, please feel free to call, email or write with your ideas or concerns. My Capitol office number is (573) 751-1415, my email is dan.hegeman@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is Room 332, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.