Hoskins: Update on Three Sponsored Bills

Only two more weeks are left of this legislative session. This has been an exceptionally productive week, in my estimation. One of my bills was heard in committee (HB 203), another passed the Senate with no amendments (HB 204) and is headed to the governor for his consideration, and yet a third bill (HB 45) is headed to the governor’s desk for signature. I have had a very good week.

Legislative Update

House Bill 203 - HB 203 was heard in the Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety. I originally introduced this bill last year and am hopeful it will gain more ground this session. The purpose of the bill is to provide certified professional therapy dogs, which are primarily used in schools with students, with the same privileges as other service animals. This bill originated from discussions with Keri Collett, a teacher at Holden who lives at Warrensburg. Certified Professional Therapy dogs and their handlers go through rigorous training and are highly effective as a method to calm students and help them feel more comfortable in the school setting. For example when a student has trouble reading, they might read to a therapy dog feeling less intimidated than they might with a teacher.

As Ms. Collett explained to me, Leno is her responsibility so she takes him home with her every night. Taking care of Leno is part of Ms. Collett’s job as a public school teacher. If she stops to get gas or run other errands, she cannot legally take Leno inside the business. Leno must stay behind in the car, not necessarily a good situation. HB 203 would afford certified professional therapy dogs like Leno to be able to be in public settings which would allow him to continually engage in socialization opportunities important in his job as a therapy dog. There are three certified professional therapy dogs in the Holden schools. There are also three certified professional therapy dogs in the Jefferson City Public Schools. Their handlers testified at the hearing with the dogs at their sides. One dog works with an elementary speech pathologist, one with an elementary counselor, and the third with an assistant middle school principal. They all testified how the dogs have been positive influences in their schools. The middle school is seeing an increase in attendance since Scout has become a regular part of the school. Coincidental? I really doubt it.

House Bill 204 - I just heard yesterday as I was leaving Jefferson City to head back to Johnson County that the Senate had passed HB 204 with no amendments. Thank you to Senator Bill Stouffer for his handling of my bill in the Senate. HB 204 is the bill I sponsored that increases flexibility for the renewal of a Missouri driver’s license for active duty military, their families, and recent retirees. This is another bill that came about from conversation with a constituent. This one was a soldier whose license expired while in Afghanistan. When he returned stateside, he was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas. When he was stopped by law enforcement, his expired license caused further complication of the situation.

It all worked out but I believe we should be supportive of our military. This is an easy way to simplify that part of military life and make the driver’s license renewal process just a bit less complex. Now HB 204 is ready for Governor Nixon’s signature.

House Bill 45 - I am proud and delighted to report that another of my bills has passed both chambers of the General Assembly this week and is headed to the governor’s desk.

HB 45 extended provisions of the Big Government Get Off My Back Act which provides tax relief for certain small businesses (50 or fewer employees). It is definitely a bill to help our Main Street businesses. By creating new jobs, companies with fewer than 50 employees can be granted an income tax deduction for tax years 2011 through 2014 as long as the new job pays at least the average annual county wage. To be a full-time job, the employee must work at least an average of 35 hours per week for a 52-week period. The business will be allowed a deduction of $10,000 for each new full-time job created or $20,000 per new full-time job if the business offers health insurance for new employees and pays at least 50% of the premiums of all full-time employees who opt into the plan. HB 45 was soundly approved by the House in a bipartisan effort by a final vote of 127-24. Senator Pearce did a great job handling my bill in the Senate where it passed 34-0.

One of my primary responsibilities here in Jefferson City is to support small business in a way to help them create employment opportunities for Missourians. After all, small business provides most of Missouri’s employment opportunities. As a small business owner, I am extremely proud that this bill is ready for the governor’s signature to make it law. This is a red letter day for me and for Missourians.

Congressional Redistricting

I’ve covered this topic in several previous Capitol Reports so I hope this is the final report to you about Congressional redistricting. The House and Senate have now come to a consensus on the final map. Johnson County is located safely in the center of the 4^th Congressional district so none of the proposed maps have directly impacted Johnson County. For some other counties, there has been great conflict about how the lines would be drawn. I believe both the House and Senate redistricting committees did the best job they could in creating the redistricting map. This was a very difficult task, as the deviation of people between districts can only be 1 person and we went from nine Congressional districts to eight Congressional districts.

Many different maps were proposed by members of the redistricting committees. Besides Missouri losing a vote in the Electoral College, the importance of Congressional redistricting can have a significant impact on the availability of federal funding for our state. All over Johnson County, we are reminded everyday of the importance of federal defense funding to our communities. We also need to remember the impacts of other federal funding including education and transportation. I am in support of the map submitted to Governor Nixon and hopeful he will accept it.

Proposition B

Legislation making modifications and providing funding to Proposition B has now been approved and sent to the governor. I am confident that these actions will correct those loose ends that were left hanging as Proposition B was written. I must vehemently remind you that none of the legislation we have approved will repeal Proposition B. I know there are some in the 121^st District who wanted no modifications made to Proposition B or wanted to reject the compromise worked out between animal advocates and farmers/pet breeders, so I have tried to do my best to explain why I supported the legislation to make the regulations relating to dog breeders better. None of us wants any animal to be abused. This will go forward to prevent inappropriate treatment to dogs and provide funding for its implementation.

Visitors to the Capitol

Recent visitors that stopped by my office included Jessica Rhodes with UCM’s THRIVE program. This is a group of young adults with developmental or physical disabilities. They came to Jefferson City on Amtrak and spent the afternoon touring the Capitol. Also visiting the Capitol this week were area teachers who are members of NEA. As a strong education advocate, I always welcome educators to the Capitol. Whenever you’re in the Capitol, I hope you’ll stop by to say hello, too.

Ways to Keep in Contact

I consider communication with my constituents a high priority. My weekly Monday morning chat at 8:45 a.m. with Woody at KOKO Radio on AM 1450 is one of the best ways I’ve found for you to literally “hear” from me. Tune in every Monday morning at 8:45 to hear the latest concerning District 121.

Please share this report with anyone you feel would be interested in this information. As the Legislature will not be in session, it will be two weeks before my next Capitol Report. It is genuinely a privilege to serve as your state representative.