JEFFERSON CITY — With a little more than three weeks remaining in the legislative session, bills are coming up quickly and the Senate is spending long days and nights debating the important issues of our state. Lawmakers are looking for “vehicles” in which to attach their priority legislation, and I am watching each amendment and bill carefully to determine how it affects the 29th District.

In the middle of a busy week, I handled House Bill 163, sponsored by Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick, R-Shell Knob, who asked me to carry it in the Senate. Currently, the cities of Monett and West Plains are required by state law to hold a primary election in a municipal election even if the number of candidates filed is less than or equal to the number of available seats. This costs the city of Monett approximately $6,000 for each election. House Bill 163 would fix this inconsistency in the law by allowing these cities to opt out of holding a primary election for city council and mayoral races if the number of candidates filed is less than the number of open seats. Monett and West Plains just want the same flexibility other cities currently have and to save their local taxpayers the cost of an unnecessary election. House Bill 163 passed with a few amendments from other members and now returns to the House for consideration.

The Senate also passed another of my bills this week, Senate Bill 205. Under this bill, each child who is a ward of the state or in the Missouri foster care system would receive a visit to a state university or institution of higher education. Unfortunately, many of our state’s foster children are not going on to college or technical or trade school. This means they are far less likely to make a living wage and are more likely to remain dependent on the state. During their school visit, the child would receive information about financial aid and the application process, and would have the opportunity to tour the school. I believe SB 205 will encourage more of our young people to seek higher education and, as it will not cost any taxpayer dollars, it is a no-cost investment in their future. It passed the Senate with bipartisan support and now moves to the House for similar consideration.

Many people continue to contact my office about the recent revelation that the Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) and Missouri Highway Patrol ignored state law and communicated the personal information of Missourians with conceal carry permits. Like many of you, I was outraged and insisted it immediately be addressed. In response, the Senate passed Senate Bill 252, legislation that would require DOR to destroy any scanned documents and prohibit them from scanning documents in the future.  Perhaps most importantly, the bill would give county sheriffs sole authority over the issuance and approval of CCW permits. I worked with my colleagues to make this change because I think most of us trust our local sheriffs more than an unelected bureaucrat in Jefferson City. The Legislature is also considering if the taxpayers of Missouri should continue to fund activity that compromises our personal information and violates state law. In the Senate version of the budget, the Motor Vehicle Division of DOR’s allotment for FY 2014 is $0.

Another issue on the minds of many Missourians is Medicaid. ObamaCare required every state to expand Medicaid to cover all adults at 138 percent of the poverty level. However, the U.S. Supreme Court decided last summer that the states could not be required to do this. While we would receive funding from the federal government to expand Medicaid, Missouri taxpayers would have to put in at least $1.2 billion over the long run. Some estimates put the cost to the state even higher. These figures do not take into account annual growth to the Medicaid rolls that occurs already. We are already responsible for more than 900,000 recipients currently on the program, and the state spends nearly half of all state general revenue on Medicaid. Frankly, I don’t trust the federal government to hold up its end of the bargain and with $17 trillion in debt, I don’t believe our country can afford the increased spending. The Senate has consistently said the Medicaid system must be fixed before we even consider committing more than a billion dollars in future state dollars that might otherwise go to core services like education, transportation, and public safety. The most likely outcome this session will be the creation of an interim committee to carefully study the issue and make recommendations to the Legislature on ways we can fix Medicaid.

As always, I welcome your ideas, questions and concerns about Missouri government. You may contact me at the State Capitol as follows: (573) 751-1480; david.sater@senate.mo.gov; or by writing to Sen. David Sater, Missouri State Capitol, Room 433, Jefferson City, MO 65101.