Schaefer: Four Sponsored Bill Heard In Committees

This week was a busy one for me at the Capitol. Four of the bills I am sponsoring were heard in different Senate committees, the Appropriations Committee heard several department budget proposals, including one from the Department of Higher Education, which was rescheduled for this week due to the snowfall our state received a few weeks ago, and I sponsored the gubernatorial appointment of Jessa R. Love as a member of the Behavior Analyst Advisory Board.

Jessa R. Love and Sen. Schaefer pose before her gubernatorial appointment review. Dr. Dean Hainsworth is recognized on the Senate floor as Doctor of the Day. Several members of the Missouri Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons pose as they are introduced on the floor.

Senate Bill 70 was heard on Monday evening in the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, chaired by Sen. Jack Goodman. This bill would change some of the provisions regarding the Missouri Family Trust. Most of these changes are technical updates of the current law that was passed about 20 years ago in an effort to update it. Senate Bill 148, which requires reimbursement of licensed physical therapists to be consistent regardless of where they perform their health care services, was considered on Tuesday in the Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee, chaired by Sen. Scott T. Rupp. Later that afternoon, Senate Bill 135 was heard in the Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee, chaired by Sen. Brad Lager. If passed, it would change requirements regarding the storage and dispensing of motor fuel and push back the expiration date of environmental laws related to dry-cleaning facilities. Finally, I presented Senate Bill 119 on Wednesday in the Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee, chaired by Sen. Brian Munzlinger. Senate Bill 119 would create the Private Landowner Protection Act. This act would allow for the creation of conservation easements, which mandate the protection of natural, scenic, or open-space property. I am also sponsoring a bill that was introduced in the Senate on Monday. Senate Bill 276 would allow state agencies to accept credit and debit cards, while charging a surcharge for the use of these types of cards, for the payment of fees and other services. Also this week, I sponsored the doctor of the day, Dr. Dean Hainsworth from the University of Missouri-Columbia, on Wednesday morning. In addition, I had the opportunity to introduce several members of the Missouri Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons on the floor of the Missouri Senate. Later on that day, the Missouri Arts Council hosted a delicious lunch outside my office on the fourth floor to promote awareness of the arts in Missouri. In news around the district, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will be hosting a State Park Camp for middle school students, and the administration at Lange Middle School has agreed to pilot the camp with more than 400 seventh grade students scheduled to attend later on this spring. At the camp, students will become more familiar with the environment through a curriculum that will cover many topics ranging from energy to geology as well as surveying land. The development of this curriculum was based on the survey results from more than 29,000 Missouri teachers. The three-day long camps will be held from April 20 through May 20 with approximately 70 students attending each session. Also, for young Missourians ages 17-21 who are looking for a job and are interested in the outdoors, the State Parks Youth Corps is back. This program will employ hundreds of young Missourians to work in Missouri’s state parks and historic sites where they will earn cash by building trails, leading tours, excavating historical sites, designing marketing campaigns, and more. If you are interested in finding out more about the program, visit MO.gov. If you plan on a visit to the Capitol with your school group, contact my office at (573) 751-3931 if you would like to be introduced in the Senate.