Lichtenegger: Heroes Way Interchange Program Expanded, Land Reclamation Act Update

As you read this Capitol Report the blue-colored text is a hyper-link to additional information. For example a House bill number below will lead the reader to the full bill text. All the blue titles in the above header are also hyper-links to websites for those entities.

This week’s survey question: Do you agree with the Right to Work initiative? Definition: A Right to Work law secures the right of employees to choose whether or not to join or financially support a union. Call 1-573-751-6662 or email your response to my assistant who will track and file all responses: Survey Response

The following list represents a few of the most recent House legislative activities

• HB 411, was defeated in the House today. It required the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to develop a transition plan to de-institutionalize persons with developmental disabilities. The plan also included a proposed schedule for implementation with a goal of shifting the provision of services for every resident by January 1, 2018.
  
• HB 141 renames the Heroes Way Interstate Interchange Designation Program to the Heroes Way Interchange Designation Program and expands the program to include state-numbered highway interchanges. This bill passed the House and has been reported to the Senate.
  
• HB 28 establishes the Abortion-inducing Drugs Safety Act which places restrictions on abortion-inducing drugs. Any person who is not a physician is prohibited from knowingly prescribing or administering RU-486 or any other abortion-inducing drug. RU-486 or any other abortion-inducing drug can only be administered in a hospital or abortion facility. The abortion facility must also be licensed as an ambulatory surgical center. The drug can only be administered by the prescribing physician or another physician acting under the prescribing physician's authority and who is in the physical presence of the patient or by the patient herself at the direction of and while in the physical presence of the physician. A physician is prohibited from prescribing or administering RU-486 or any other abortion-inducing drug unless he or she has clinical privileges which allow the physician to perform surgeries at a hospital or at the abortion facility where the drug was administered offering obstetrical or gynecological care that is within 30 miles of the location where the abortion is being induced. This bill passed the House today and was reported to the Senate.
  

Constituent Corner

A big Thank You to those who testified Tuesday at the public hearing for The Land Reclamation Act. I will speak with each committee member to promote understanding and passage of the bill [HB299].


Representative Shelley Keeney and I recently met with FFA/4-H from Bollinger & Cape Girardeau Counties.


Speaker of the House Steven Tilley and I enjoyed the company of Missouri Farm Bureau (MFB) Youth Leadership Day led by MFB’s Brian Koenig (far left). These students showed genuine enthusiasm for learning and leading.