The Missouri Senate jumped head first into work this week.

Monday afternoon, the Senate Seniors, Families & Pensions Committee held an informational hearing on pensions. Ronda Stegmann, the Executive Director of the Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement, educated members on pension structure, funding variables and which pension systems are governed by state statute.  The session was an opportunity for members to gain a better understanding of the pension system prior to hearing pension-related legislation in the coming weeks. I was pleased with the information shared and greatly appreciated Ronda’s hard work in helping to educate committee members.

Early Tuesday morning, the Senate Seniors, Families & Pensions Committee met to hear Senate Bill 205, a bill sponsored by Sen. Sater, R-Cassville, that would require children over 15 years of age and who are in foster care or in custody of the Division of Youth Services (DYS) to receive a visit to a state university or community or technical college before they are adopted or exit the foster care or DYS systems.  The legislation would require the visit include a meeting to discuss how to apply to a higher education institution, financial support for these schools, and career options.  The legislation is designed to ensure each young adult in the foster care system has an opportunity to learn more about the options available to continue his or her education.  

On Tuesday afternoon, the Senate began debate on Senate Bill 120, sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, that addresses tax credit programs in Missouri.  The bill includes ideas to eliminate some tax credit programs and place a limit (cap) on others, while creating new programs, too.  The debate on this legislation was in-depth, lasting close to 12 hours.  Discussions focused on limits to some of the largest tax credit programs in Missouri, including the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Historic Preservation Tax Credit; the need and/or benefit of creating new programs, such as the angel investor, data center, and air cargo hub incentives; and an overall discussion of whether or not tax credits actually work and/or should be a function of government.  At roughly 4:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, senators reached a first-round agreement on the legislation. The measure would receive final passage in the Senate later in the week, moving the bill to the House for similar consideration. 

When senators returned on Wednesday, the afternoon was full of committee hearings.  I participated in the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing, followed by a hearing of the Senate Jobs and Economic Development Committee.  Thereafter, I had the opportunity to present two bills to the Senate Government Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee.  One of those bills, Senate Joint Resolution 5, a bill I am sponsoring this session, would amend the constitution to require that the legislative session be shortened from 18 weeks to 12 weeks.  If passed, the changes would take effect in the 99th General Assembly, which starts in 2017.  I hope the committee will vote the legislation out so we can have a meaningful discussion on the Senate floor.  It is my belief that the Legislature should be very focused on the task at hand when in session and, rather than enacting tons of legislation, should be focused on doing those things that are truly a function of government – balancing the budget, funding education and supporting advances to infrastructure. I feel this idea moves us in that direction. 

Wednesday evening, the Senate debated Senate Bill 26, a bill sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee's Summit, that proposes changes to Missouri’s individual and corporate tax rates.  The final bill that was presented to the Senate during debate on Wednesday night was the agreed to version by members of the Senate Ways & Means Committee after weeks of hearings as to the best way to approach Missouri’s tax structure.  After several hours of debate, the bill was laid over for discussion at a later date. 

Thursday morning saw an influx of introduced legislation, as it marked the final day for legislators to file bills for the 2013 session.  I joined a group of legislators who filed new ideas.  One of those ideas was what I will refer to as the "Missouri Compact," which is a Senate concurrent resolution that sets forth principles to guide future debates on the issue of immigration in Missouri. The resolution is modeled after compacts drafted and passed in Utah, Colorado and most recently Texas.  The idea came to me after hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon Panel on Immigration I chaired during the interim.  I am hopeful that we can encourage support of the compact from legislators and community leaders alike.  

This week was certainly full of debate and discussion on topics important to our state.  I am happy with our focus to work hard and tackle the tough issues.  I look forward to returning to the Capitol next week to do the same.  Have a wonderful weekend!