As January comes to an end, the Legislature is in full swing and every committee I serve on has had at least one hearing. The Missouri Senate Appropriations Committee heard testimony from the governor’s office regarding his priorities for Fiscal Year 2024 and the Department of Corrections. One message that was consistent during these hearings was dealing with the State of Missouri’s approximate 7,000 vacant positions. The Senate Government Accountability Committee passed Senate Bill 51, which would allow physical therapists with a doctorate of physical therapy, or five years of clinical experience, to evaluate and initiate treatment on a patient without referral from a physician. This measure would remove unnecessary and burdensome regulations, which saves the patient time and money, and I am proud to have supported it in committee.

The Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 76, a bill I filed that would prohibit the ownership of foreign-owned farmland in Missouri. I will continue to work with the committee to ensure the passage of this legislation.

The Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee held a public hearing on Senate Bill 5. This proposal would allow the enrollment of nonresident students in public schools, also known as open enrollment. I have received emails and calls regarding this legislation and have supported it in the past. In my opinion, these bills will deliver opportunities for a variety of students, while also providing local control for school districts to determine how, or if, they participate. The widely dispersed population of the 12th Senatorial District is the basis of my support. Similar to the way some districts combine resources to form sports teams, these bills could provide cooperation between school districts that offer career tech education classes, or STEM classes, along with others. I believe these bills will allow students the opportunity to improve educational choices when their local district does not provide particular courses of study. As a teacher in rural northwest Missouri, I have witnessed first-hand the difficulties of restricted offerings within a school. While not every school is strained, there is a difference between providing opportunities for kids, opposed to providing them what the state requires. My hope is these bills will help get schools to think about cooperating, improve opportunities for our kids, keep students and protect schools in the 12th District. 

Representatives from the Main Street Connection in Chillicothe and Brookfield visited my office earlier this week to discuss how their organization has and continues to advocate for communities in creating resilient local economies for 15 years.

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 rusty.black@senate.mo.gov and my mailing address is 201 W. Capitol Ave., Room 331, State Capitol Building, Jefferson City, MO 65101.