April 21, 2023

Final Weeks of Session

As the end of session approaches, the Senate has been hard at work debating and passing bills on the floor.

I am proud to say the Senate passed my Senate Bill 148 to move elections for street light maintenance district board members from the November general election to the April general municipal election.

In the past couple of weeks, the Senate has third read and passed several bills, sending them to the Missouri House of Representatives for consideration, including:

• Senate Bill 189 creates “Max’s Law” to increase the penalty for the offense of assault on a law enforcement animal to a class A misdemeanor, as well as other provisions relating to criminal laws.
• Senate Bill 378 allows the executive director of the Missouri Ethics Commission to extend the deadline for submitting campaign finance reports if there are extraordinary circumstances and bans lobbyist gifts for elected local government officials.
•  Senate Bill 129 would add a rebuttable presumption when determining child custody arrangements that an award of equal or approximately equal parenting time to each parent is in the best interests of the child.

This week, the Senate granted first round approval to the following bills:

• Senate Bill 80 establishes the Missouri Statewide Mechanical Contractors Licensing Act.
• Senate Bill 265 establishes the “Waterways and Ports Trust Fund” for the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Highways and Transportation Commission to develop a statewide plan for waterborne commerce and review plans of local or regional port authorities for major public capital improvements to encourage coordination with the statewide plan.

Additionally, hearings were held in each of the committees I sit on, including Commerce, Consumer Protection Energy and the Environment; Insurance and Banking; Governmental Accountability; and Gubernatorial Appointments.

Capitol Visitors

This week, I met with Ferguson Florissant NEA teacher, Thomas Whitaker; 8th grade students from Hazelwood East Middle School; and nurses from Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital.

I also had the pleasure of meeting with physicians advocating for Senate Bill 183 and MO-CAP (Missouri Child Psychiatry Access Project). This legislation modifies provisions relating the waiting periods after enrollment for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Senator Angela Walton Mosley with physicians advocating for Senate Bill 183.

I met with Boys and Girls Club of Greater St. Louis Trustee Bob Fulstone and President Flint Fowler, and the Boys and Girls Club 2023 Missouri State Youth of the Year Books winners, Zhariah and Avery.

Senator Angela Walton Mosley with the Boys and Girls Club 2023 Missouri State Youth of the Year Books winners, Zhariah and Avery.

Senator Angela Walton Mosley with Boys and Girls Club Trustee Bob Fulstone and President Flint Fowler.

Senator Angela Walton Mosley visits a community grocery store in Jennings.

Back in the district, I had the pleasure of attending the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected St. Louis Community College Trustee, as well as the swearing-in of the first female mayor of Bellefontaine Neighbors.

Praying for Ralph Yarl

Last week, Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black student, was asked to pick up his younger siblings and accidentally went to the wrong house. After ringing the doorbell, the owner allegedly shot him once in the head and then once again after he fell down. The Clay County prosecutor has said the man will face charges of assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. There is no doubt in my mind that this act of violence was racially motivated. I am tired of racism, and I am tired of gun violence in our state. There are commonsense solutions that could prevent these tragedies, and we need to be focusing on those policies in the Legislature. Enough is enough. I am praying for a full recovery for Ralph, as well as justice for him and his family.

For more information on Sen. Walton Mosley’s legislative actions, visit her official Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Mosley.