This week brought an end to the first full month of the 2013 legislative session. I am happy to report that it was a very productive one.  The Senate is off to a great start!

Monday evening, the governor delivered his annual State of the State address in which he set forth a few of his priorities for the upcoming year. Both prior to and after the address, senators debated legislation (SB 20) that would reauthorize several tax credit programs, often referred to as benevolent tax credits, including: the tax credit for pregnancy resource centers; the special needs adoption tax credit; and a credit for the children in crisis programs. The debate lasted late into the evening as senators were committed to advancing the legislation as soon as possible.  During a vote later in the week, the full Senate voted to pass the bill.  The measure now moves to the Missouri House of Representatives for similar consideration.  I am hopeful that the House will quickly take up and pass the bill, so we can help restore those benefits to those in need. 

On Tuesday, the Senate debated SB 10, a measure that would provide tax credits for amateur sporting events.  These credits are designed to help draw athletic associations to cities all across Missouri, thereby benefiting local communities.  The bill was given first round approval on Tuesday, and later passed a final vote it the Senate.  Senate Bill 10 now moves to the Missouri House. 

Late Wednesday morning, two bills I am sponsoring this session made it to the Senate floor for debate.  You may remember my discussion of SB 47, a bill designed to encourage more people to become legal guardians for children in the foster care system, from previous weekly updates.  The idea for this legislation was brought to me by the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition in Missouri.  The coalition works hard to identify extended family members of children in foster care in hopes that one of those family members will consider serving as the child’s legal guardian.  Senate Bill 47 would expand the definition of legal guardians that can receive subsidies to aid in the support and care of such children.  Studies have shown that children who are placed with family members tend to remain in those homes for a greater period of time.  As a result, they tend to find more stability and permanency in their lives which makes them less likely to return to the foster care system. I am grateful for the support of my colleagues who assisted me in getting this legislation perfected Wednesday morning.  I am hopeful the bill will be ready for a final vote next week.

The Senate also discussed Senate Bill 48, another bill I sponsored, aimed at removing race as a consideration in adoption placements. Specifically, the bill states that the race or ethnicity of an adoptive child, the child’s biological parents or the prospective adoptive parents could not be a consideration when determining the best interests of the child, the welfare of the child, the suitability or assessment of prospective adoptive parents or the home of the prospective adoptive parents in adoptive placements.  One of the most important goals for me as a legislator is to improve the adoption process.  When courts are allowed to take the race of the parents or children into consideration it impedes the process.  By removing race as a consideration, I am hopeful that children will be able to more quickly be placed in adoptive homes.  After a great debate with fellow legislators, the bill was laid over for discussion on a later date.  I will keep you up-to-date as it moves through the process.

On Thursday morning, the Senate Ways and Means Committee, chaired by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee's Summit, held a public hearing on tax policy. The hearing was designed to elicit testimony regarding how best to possibly change Missouri's tax policies to better compete with surrounding states and to benefit Missourians. Among the topics discussed were reforms to the business income tax, the personal income tax and our state's consideration of entering into the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. I hope that hearing was the start of a more in-depth discussion that ultimately leads to changes in Missouri's tax policies.

Aside from our legislative work this week, I also had an opportunity to visit with some dear friends, Jerry and Mary Grimaud.   Jerry is the president of Lawrence Fabric & Metal Structures, and was in town to accept an award for business excellence from the state of Missouri.  The award recognizes achievements in business management, government contracting, job creation and revenue generation.  The company is known for some of the major architectural works in the St. Louis area, including the awnings at Busch Stadium and the bow wrapped around the St. Louis Science Center.  I was grateful for the opportunity to thank Jerry in person.  His story is one of true success.  In addition to Jerry's visit, I had the opportunity to meet several other constituents, including those who now live in the 24th District following the 2012 redistricting process.  I learned a lot from those visits and look forward to working with and representing those constituents in the future.

As I hope you can tell, the Senate worked very hard this week and made a lot of great strides.  However, there is still a lot of work to be done.  I hope you will follow the process next week and check back for my Capitol Update next Friday.  I look forward to hopefully bringing legislation I am sponsoring pertaining to accommodations for service dogs (SB 33) before the Senate body for debate.  Given the amazing help that such dogs can provide, I think the bill would be of great benefit to a number of Missourians.

As always, I wish you and your families a wonderful weekend.  I hope you enjoy the Super Bowl - whether it is the actual game or the commercials - if you watch.