State Sen. Justin Brown
District 16

For Immediate Release:
March 1, 2024

Capital Building, Room 420
Jefferson City, MO 65101 

Contact: Ashley Bax
 573-751-5713

Progress Is Made as Work Takes Place

Happy Friday from your state Capitol and I hope you were able to take advantage of the great weather before the cold turn this week. The Senate floor was a bustle of activity as we took up and perfected a number of bills. It was great to see real work being done.

Before I get into the details of this week in the Senate. I want to say a special thank you to all who sent “Roses for Life” to my office. These served as a humble reminder of the importance of my position and to focus on preserving the values that are vital to me and to a majority of Missourians, such as the right to life for all from the moment of conception.

I had multiple bills passed out of committee this week and presented several others in hearings. Senate Bill 849 was passed by the Senate Emerging Issues Committee and is aimed at motivating more students into the engineering field in Missouri. The bill would authorize tax credits for qualified businesses and workers, assisting in covering the tuition for an engineering degree. Engineering remains a vital field across a myriad of industries, yet our state continues to see a shortage of available engineers despite having one of the premiere universities right here in Rolla.  

That same committee also passed Senate Bill 850 that prohibits the sale and distribution of unsafe or counterfeit lighters. This may seem like a simple bill, but I believe it is a necessary step towards ensuring people’s safety. Lighters that don’t meet the American Society for Testing Material Standards, or don’t go through any testing at all, pose a risk to both the user of such lighters and those around them. Nearly all American companies that manufacture these lighters voluntarily meet these safety standards, but we see the number of knockoff and imitation lighters being imported increasing. This is simply a way to make sure that the lighters sold and distributed in Missouri are safe and reliable.

I also presented a bill to the Emerging Issues Committee. Senate Bill 1353 would help ease the financial burden of long-term inmates in county jails by requiring the Missouri Department of Corrections to reimburse the county for the stay of an inmate if he or she is sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a correctional center.

The Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee passed Senate Bill 939. This is my legislation aimed at increasing funding for regional planning commissions. These commissions play an integral function in maintaining and improving the infrastructure of our state and, in my opinion, we have fallen woefully behind in providing them adequate funding to stay on top of the needs of our state.

I was also proud to present Senate Bill 851 to the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. This legislation would increase the availability of telemedicine by allowing internet and telephone questionnaires to have the same validity and qualify as acceptable medical interviews. Current law prohibits such questionnaires, severely limiting an effective method of healthcare that is massively beneficial to rural communities.

It is always motivating to see the hard work of preparing legislation pay off and gain momentum for the bills that I believe will have a positive impact on our communities and the entire state. I look forward to keeping these legislative efforts moving forward and seeing many of them reach the finish line and be signed into law by the governor.

It’s my honor to serve as your senator for the 16th District. If you have questions or need any assistance, please call my office at 573-751-5713 or log onto my webpage at senate.mo.gov/brown for more information.

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