Torpey: Standing Behind Voice Of Voters

A Special Note

Last week, I had the privilege of being job-shadowed by Kayla Henderson, a Junior Family and Consumer Sciences student at Northwest Missouri State University, who hails from Independence, Missouri. Kayla, along with other students across the state, were in Jefferson City to take part in FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America) Legislative Day. Although Kayla does not share my passion for government, she is an intelligent young woman who has a bright future ahead; upon graduation, she plans to attend Culinary School to become a pastry chef. Kayla spent the morning with me while the House was in session, and much of the afternoon with Amanda, my Legislative Aide, and our intern Stephanie, who were working up in the office. We truly enjoyed our time with Kayla and look forward to tasting some of her baked goods once her culinary career begins!

2011 Legislative Session continues

For the past few weeks, my office has been receiving many phone calls in regard to House Bill 131, due to a robo-call that was sent to voters district wide. HB 131, sponsored by Rep. Stanley Cox intends to modify certain provisions of Proposition B, which was voted into law by an overwhelming amount back in November. Many of the phone calls are asking me to vote in favor of the bill, while a few others are asking me to oppose the changes. At this point in time, I intend to uphold the voters' voice on this issue, and vote against House Bill 131. To read up on House Bill 131, visit the House Home Page's Bill List by clicking HERE.

This week, the House third-read and passed many bills, but there are three that I find of the utmost importance. First, House Bill 136, sponsored by Rep. David Day, allows the spouse of certain active military members to be eligible for unemployment benefits and to receive a temporary courtesy license to practice his or her occupation or profession in this state. To learn more, click HERE. Second, House Bill 214, sponsored by Rep. Ann Zerr, changes the laws regarding human trafficking. To read this bill in its entirety or in summary, click HERE. Lastly, House Bill 276, sponsored by Rep. Ward Franz, changes the laws regarding unlawful picketing or protesting of a funeral. For more information, click HERE.

Committees

Small Business met on Wednesday of this week to discuss four bills that were assigned to our committee. We discussed House Bill 386, sponsored by Rep. Bob Nance on Small Claims Court Actions. If passed into law, this legislation increases the amount in controversy from less than $3,000 to less than $5,000 for a case where the judge of a small claims court will have original jurisdiction.

The remaining three bills were voted out of committee and will hopefully be placed on the calendar to be debated on the House floor. First, House Bill 211, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Koenig, prohibits the Department of Health and Senior Services from enforcing or enacting a rule or regulation relating to lead abatement that is stricter than those required by federal law. This passed out of committee with a 16 to 4 vote. Secondly, House Bill 68, sponsored by Rep. Dwight Scharnhorst, prohibits a political subdivision from imposing a fine or penalty on the owner of a pay telephone on the owner's property for calls to an emergency telephone service from the pay telephone. This bill passed out of committee with consent, with a 16-0 vote. Finally, House bill 86, sponsored by Rep. Mike McGhee, authorizes corporations or unincorporated associations to be represented in small claims court by their president or vice-president for any claim of $500 or less for certain actions to remove a tenant. This bill passed out of committee with a 15 to 3 vote.

Fiscal Review also met on Wednesday to discuss the Fiscal Note for House Bill 76, sponsored by Rep. Jerry Nolte. If passed into law, this bill would phase out the corporate franchise tax over five years and limit a corporation's franchise tax to the prior year's amount. This bill passed out of committee with a 16-1 vote.

Word of the Week

Sometimes in the General Assembly, we use words that do not exactly come up in every day conversation. In this section of my Capitol Report, I hope to explain some terms to you that were explained to me when I took my seat as your State Representative.

This week's word: CONSENT, as in "We passed a consent bill this week." I realize that everyone understands what consent generally means: to respond favorably to, agree with, etc. However, in the General Assembly consent is a bit more complex.

Consent bills are passed every year in both chambers, and are considered to be bills of a non-controversial nature. Most of the time, a consent bill seeks to make an adjustment or correction to an existing law that most people would generally agree with. A bill is not considered "consent" until its sponsor requests it be considered as such, and then the bill must remain on the Consent Calendar for at least 5 days. During this time, any representative is free to make a written objection to the bill's consent status, requesting the bill be returned to the committee that approved it as "consent." Also, a rules committee may remove a bill from the Consent Calendar with a simple majority. A consent bill cannot be amended, which makes its pass much faster. Normally, bills have to go through a preliminary vote also known as a "perfection" vote and then a second "third read" vote. However, consent bills must be passed "as is" or not passed at all.

In Other News

On Thursday, March 24th, Senator Will Kraus and I will be holding an open Legislative Forum for our constituents of the 52nd House District and the 8th Senatorial District. The event will be held at the Midwest Genealogy Center (3440 S. Lee's Summit Road, Independence, MO 64055) from 7 to 9 pm. We very much look forward to speaking with you and answering your questions. Please feel free to contact our office if you have any questions about this event. If you would like to learn more about the Genealogy Center, visit the website by clicking HERE.

Also, do not forget to RSVP for the first annual 52nd District Day, on April 19th, by calling or emailing our office. I look forward to hosting my constituents here in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Serving you as always,

Noel Torpey
State Representative
District 52