It’s hard to believe that we just completed one full month of our 2014 legislative session.  As usual, as session progresses the weeks get much busier. This week was no exception.

Tuesday started with a committee hearing for the Senate Seniors, Families and Pensions Committee.  Three bills were presented to the committee during the two-hour hearing.  Senate Bill 532 would provided relative caregivers the ability to seek and use an affidavit to consent to medical treatment and education services for a child.  The bill would allow those caregivers the ability to make decisions regarding health care and education in situations when parents are unable to be found and/or consent to the same.  The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 552, which would relieve a former spouse of maintenance payments in situations when the receiving former spouse is cohabitating or has cohabitated with another person in a relationship of a romantic nature. The legislation requires that the cohabitation be continuous and habitual, thus meaning it must have occurred for a period of 90 or more consecutive days. The legislation is aimed at stopping alimony payments in situations where a former spouse forgoes marriage simply to ensure that they continue to receive alimony payments. The final bill heard in committee was Senate Bill 530, which proposes additional circumstances under which a parent is presumed unfit to be a party to the parent-child relationship, allowing a juvenile officer or the Children’s Division to file for a TPR, or termination of parental rights. The circumstances set forth in this bill are ones in which a child or birth parent tests positive for drug use or in cases when the parent has pled guilty to or has been convicted of a felony involving the possession, manufacture or sale of certain drugs, if the mother has at least one other child who was adjudicated a neglected minor or was provided services by the Children’s Division through a family-centered service case.  Given the very important nature of these bills, the committee spent a lot of time evaluating the legislation and hearing testimony from those who favored and opposed the legislation.

Tuesday also marked our first opportunity to begin debating legislation on the Senate floor. Senate Bill 507 was first up.  The bill modifies the gubernatorial appointment process in various ways. The act changes current law to require the governor to issue a writ of election within 30 days after a vacancy in the office of State representative or State senator occurs.  
The bill also requires the governor to issue a writ of election within 30 days for a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office, with an election to be held at the next general election. The legislation requires that Senate consent be given for all those appointed to lead an executive department or division established by the Missouri Constitution, as well as any member of an administrative board or commission and provides that the governor shall immediately appoint a person to fill the vacancy of any statewide elected official until the next general election occurs.

The legislation also contains a referendum clause which means that it is subject to voter approval. Senator Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, sponsor of this bill, has also filed corresponding Senate Joint Resolution (SJR 30) that proposes these changes to the Missouri Constitution. After several hours of debate, the legislation was laid over for consideration at a later time.

Wednesday morning started with a long Senate Gubernatorial Appointment Committee meeting in which more than 20 gubernatorial appointees were brought before the committee.  Following the nearly two-hour hearing, senators returned to the Senate floor to further debate Senate Bill 507, which was again set aside for further debate.

Wednesday afternoon, I attended the Senate Jobs, Economic Development, and Local Government Committee meeting.  The committee heard three bills, two aimed at increasing the caps for tax credits for donations to pregnancy resource centers (SB 638) and food pantries (SB 647).  The third bill (SB 666) would create a refundable income tax credit for residential real property owners in an amount equal to three-quarters of a percent (.75) of the assessed value of the residential real property they own.  In order to be eligible for the credit, the taxpayer must own the property on Jan. 1, 2014, and the credit is only available for the tax year beginning in 2014.

Following the Jobs, Economic Development, and Local Government Committee meeting, I had an opportunity to meet with students from Washington University who are taking a lobbying class this semester.  It was a nice opportunity to help acquaint them with the legislative process.

Thursday morning, I presented Senate Bill 513 to the Senate Ways & Means Committee.  The bill would create a tax cut of $400 per child for individuals able to claim a dependency deduction on their federal income taxes. The cut applies to single individuals with an adjusted gross income under $46,100 and married couples with a combined Missouri adjusted gross income under $92,200.  Since tax cuts have been a major discussion over the past few years, I thought it would be good to introduce a new idea into the debate.  I support lowering taxes on middle class families who are truly feeling the pinch in these tough economic times.  This bill would do just that.

Following committee, senators met on the floor Thursday morning and gave first-round approval to Sen. Dixon's Senate Bill 507 before adjourning for the week. The measure needs another round of approval before moving to the House for similar consideration.

I wish you and your families a wonderful and hopefully warm weekend and look forward to sending an update on our work in the Senate next week.

Sincerely,