Week of Jan. 1, 2024

A New Year Kicks Off

Greetings and Happy New Year! I hope your 2024 is off to a great start and you were able to enjoy the holiday season. I am excited to be back in Jefferson City for the beginning of the legislative session as there is much work to be done. 

The 2024 session was gaveled in on Wednesday, Jan. 3, and nearly 600 bills and resolutions were first-read. This is the first step for a bill on the path to becoming a law. I have filed several bills to be debated and hopefully sent to the governor’s desk in the coming months. I will provide updates on those bills’ progress as session moves forward, but want to provide a brief summary of my priority pieces of legislation that were assigned to committees this week. 

Senate Bill 724 is focused on election security. It would create the Office of Election Integrity-Crimes and Security Unit within the Secretary of State’s office. This unit would oversee the investigation of complaints and allegations of election law violations, as well as operating a voter fraud hotline. 

I also put forward legislation designed to ease personal property tax burdens for Missourians. Due to recent inflation and the increase in the value of used vehicles, some individuals are actually paying more on their property taxes than they did five years earlier. Senate Bill 275 will lower the assessment rates on such property to account for increases in property values.  

In 2023, the General Assembly passed a bill to prohibit health care providers from providing gender transition surgeries, cross-sex hormones and puberty-blocking drugs to anyone under the age of 18. That bill was known as the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. Senate Bill 726 eliminates a “sunset” provision included in that law that sets a 2027 expiration date on the SAFE Act. Lawmakers worked hard to get this vital law passed and we should make sure that children will be protected from what I believe to be dangerous procedures forever, not just for the next three years. 

These are just a few of the many big topics that will be discussed, debated and voted on in the coming months. I encourage you to stay informed and get involved in the legislative process while the General Assembly is in session. Please visit my senate webpage at senate.mo.gov/Hoskins and sign up for my capitol report newsletter. I always appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. Please feel free to visit my office at the Capitol or contact me by calling 573-751-4302. You may also email me at denny.hoskins@senate.mo.gov.