The First Bill Clears the Senate

The 2023 legislative session reached a milestone this week as bills passed out of committee and onto the full Senate for debate. I’m proud to report legislation I sponsored, Senate Bill 3, was the first bill perfected on the Senate floor. This legislation establishes a “regulatory sandbox,” a provision of law allowing businesses time to prove the merits of an innovative idea or a new product free of burdensome regulation. The bill creates an Office of Regulatory Relief within the Department of Economic Development. Business would be allowed to apply for waivers from certain rules and regulations for a period of two years in order to establish and prove the merits of their enterprise or product.

Although activity has moved to the Senate chamber, there’s still a lot of work to be done in committee. This week, the Economic Development and Tax Policy Committee took testimony on two bills I’ve sponsored to attract professional entertainment business to Missouri. Senate Bill 94 establishes the “Show MO Act.” This legislation would provide incentives to media production companies who film at least 50 percent of a project on location in Missouri. Additional incentives would be available for projects that develop new workplace skills for Missourians, feature a rural or blighted area or present Missouri in a positive light. A somewhat related measure, Senate Bill 170, is aimed at encouraging national- and world-class music acts to base their pre-tour stage preparations in Missouri. Currently, a state-of-the-art rehearsal and stage show development facility is being constructed in eastern Missouri. Musical performers are expected to spend months at the facility developing elaborate stage shows, hiring local workers and fueling Missouri’s economy in the process.

Also this week, I presented Senate Bill 2, the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” to the Emerging Issues Committee. This legislation prohibits students who were born as a biological male from competing in athletic competitions designated for biological females. Any school that allows biological males to participate in girls’ sports would be ineligible for state funding. In the Senate Appropriations Committee, this week we focused our attention on budget requests from the departments of Commerce and Insurance, Mental Health, Transportation, Natural Resources and the Office of the State Public Defender. We also received a briefing on the governor’s Fiscal Year 2023 early supplemental budget request.

As always, I appreciate hearing your comments, opinions and concerns. Please feel free to contact me in Jefferson City at (573) 751-4302. You may also email me at Denny.Hoskins@senate.mo.gov.