Legislative Actions and Information for the Week of Feb. 10, 2020
| On the Floor
The Missouri Senate returned once again to the proposed changes to the voter-approved Clean Missouri initiative. Senate Joint Resolution 38 eliminates the nonpartisan state demographer position and instead returns the redistricting process to the hands of bipartisan citizen commissions. Additionally, SJR 38 tweaks the criteria for how these commissions draw legislative district lines. The Clean Missouri amendment emphasized drawing lines to encourage partisan fairness, while SJR 38 includes similar language, but places that behind other criteria such as equal-sized districts and compactness. Senate Joint Resolution 38 also eliminates lobbyist gifts and lowers the maximum campaign donation amount to Missouri Senatorial campaigns by $100. On Feb. 4, Sen. Nasheed, as well as several of her colleagues, filibustered SJR 38 when it came up for debate. Senator Nasheed believes SJR 38 undoes the will of the voters, 62 percent of which supported Clean Missouri. After several hours, the bill was allowed to come to a vote, and was perfected. On Feb. 10, the Senate gave final approval to SJR 38 and sent it to the Missouri House of Representatives for further consideration. Even if SJR 38 is approved by the House, it must also be approved by Missouri voters in order to go into effect. Senator Nasheed also opposes another piece of legislation currently making its way through Senate. Senate Bill 600 is a crime bill that Sen. Nasheed believes has the potential to undo some of the criminal justice reforms she has fought so hard for over the past several years. The legislation includes a number of sentencing enhancements and tougher penalties, reduces the number of offenses eligible for parole and requires prison terms for certain crimes to be served consecutively rather than concurrently. Senator Nasheed believes many of these provisions focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation, and by extending criminal sentences and reducing probation opportunities, SB 600 could lead to more crowded prisons. Senate Bill 600 was perfected on the floor, and needs one more round of approval from the Senate in order to advance to the House. Appropriations This week, the Senate’s Appropriations Committee heard budget requests from the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Health and Senior Services, Office of Administration, the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Secretary of State, Office of the Auditor and the General Assembly. Other News House Approves Drug Monitoring Program After several hours of debate, the Missouri House of Representatives gave first-round approval to legislation to create a statewide prescription drug monitoring program to combat opioid abuse and end Missouri’s distinction as the only state in the nation without one. The measure, House Bill 1693, will need a second vote to go to the Senate. Supporters say a PDMP is an important tool to track the over-prescription of narcotics and flag patients who go to multiple doctors to obtain powerful and addictive pain medications. However opponents to the statewide PMDP argue it could leave sensitive patient information vulnerable to being hacked or otherwise falling into the wrong hands. Over the past few years, St. Louis County has launched its own monitoring program and opened it up for other counties to join. Nearly 90 percent of the state’s population lives in counties that belong to St. Louis County’s program. Senator Nasheed believes enacting a statewide PDMP at this point would provide PDMP coverage to the remaining counties. Governor Makes Two Appointments to UM Curators On Feb. 12, the governor appointed Robin Wenneker of Columbia and Gregory Hoberock of Washington to the University of Missouri Board of Curators, the governing authority for the four-campus UM System. Both must be confirmed by the Missouri Senate before joining the board. Wenneker is the managing partner of CPW Partnership, a property management company. She would replace Curator Jon Sunvold, who is serving on an unexpired term. Hoberock is CEO and chairman of HTH Companies Inc. and would replace former Curator Jamie Farmer, who resigned in August. Both appointees are MU graduates.
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