Torpey: William Southern Elementary Visit, Committees Advance Several Measures

A Special Note

We had some very special visitors to the Capitol last week! On Thursday, 4th graders from William Southern Elementary came down to Jefferson City to watch the House in action, tour the Capitol building, and visit the Governor's Mansion.

I truly enjoyed having these students here with us in the Capitol. They very much impressed me with their knowledge of our state government and the way in which we function; they also had some great questions for me to answer as we spent the afternoon on the House floor. We would like to send a huge thanks to the teachers and parents who visited with the students, especially Mrs. Bailey Higgins!!

2011 Legislative Session continues

This big topic on everyone's minds this week is redistricting. With overwhelming bipartisan support, the House approved the new Congressional Districts maps [HB193]. This legislation is now headed to the Senate for approval.

For more information on current legislation in the Missouri House of Representatives, please contact our office or visit the House website.

Committees

Small Business met Wednesday to hold a public hearing on HB 741, sponsored by Rep. Bernskoetter, will add an eligible energy-saving enterprise to the list of entities that are eligible to receive a linked deposit loan.

• HB 322, sponsored by Rep. Walton-Gray, will allow certain organizations who sell intoxicating liquor by the drink on the premises to obtain a special permit to remain open until 3:00 a.m. each day and to open on Sundays at 9:00 a.m. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 19-1, myself voting in favor.
• HB 403, sponsored by Rep. Brandom, will allow a landlord to file a claim in a small claims court for the ejectment of a tenant in order to obtain possession of premises. This bill passed committee with a vote of 14-6, myself voting in favor.

Fiscal Review met Wednesday to discuss quite a few bills that were assigned to our committee.

• SCS SB 19, sponsored by Senator Schmitt, will phase-out the corporate franchise tax over a five year period. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 6-4, myself voting in favor.
• HCS HB 192, sponsored by Rep. Tim Jones, will change the laws regarding environmental protection programs. This bill passed with a vote of 10-0.
• HCS HJR 3, sponsored by Rep. Loehner, proposes a constitutional amendment affirming the right of persons to raise livestock in a humane manner without the state imposing an undue economic burden on their owners. This bill passed with a vote of 10-0.
• HCS HB 28, sponsored by Rep. Sater, establishes the Abortion-inducing Drugs Safety Act which prohibits a non-physician from prescribing an abortion-inducing drug and specifies that a pharmacy cannot be required to be connected with the drug. This bill passed 7-3, myself voting in favor.
• HCS HB 411/421, sponsored by Rep. Wyatt, will require the Department of Mental Health to develop a transition plan for services of a resident of a state developmental disabilities facility to the most appropriate living setting. This bill passed with a vote of 10-0.

Downsizing State Government met today to vote on four bills that had been previously heard in the committee.

• HJR 11, sponsored by Rep. Burlison, which would propose a constitutional amendment prohibiting appropriations in any fiscal year from exceeding certain limits. This bill was defeated by a 5-6 vote, with myself voting in favor.
• HJR 12, also sponsored by Rep. Burlison, which would propose a constitutional amendment reducing the number of members of the House of Representatives from 163 to 103 beginning with the 98th General Assembly. This bill was defeated by a 7-9 vote, with myself voting in favor.
• HB 437, sponsored by Rep. McNary, which would allow each representative and senator to employ one legislator assistant, instead of one stenographer or secretary, during any session of a general assembly. This bill passed with a 16-0 vote.
• Finally, HB 493, sponsored by Rep. Wieland, which would require the Commissioner of the Office of Administration to develop a statewide system or to contract with a third party to allow all state agencies and departments to accept electronic payments. This bill also passed committee with a 16-0 vote.

General Laws, chaired by Rep. Ward Franz, heard my bill (HB 932) on Tuesday of this week. I was very happy to have Josh Rice, the Deputy Captain of Cooper County, in town to testify on behalf of this bill. Hopefully, the passage of this bill will encourage out of state drivers to travel to and through our state.

Crime Prevention and Public Safety, chaired by Rep. Rodney Schad, heard my bill (HB 781) on Wednesday of this week. I truly hope this bill passes and becomes law in order to strengthen the punishment on child molesters, especially those with repeat offenses. In order to keep our children safe, we truly must get these offenders off of our community streets. My filing of this bill was inspired by a young girl in Independence who was raped and sodomized by a repeat offender who was sentenced to 8 years, but spent a mere 120 days in jail. This is absolutely unacceptable! You can read this article on the Examiner website, or by clicking here.

For more information on these bills, or any that have been filed in the Missouri House of Representatives, please visit the House Bill information page by clicking here.

Word of the Week

While in committee meetings, we either hold hearings on bills or go into executive session in order to move a bill out of the committee (or kill the bill). This week I had two committee hearings, in General Laws and in Crime Prevention and Public Safety, in order to provide testimony and facts before the committee members so they can later decide if my bills will pass out of the committee or not. Therefore, this week's word is: committee hearings.

Committee Hearings: Committee sessions for taking testimony from witnesses to gain knowledge on a specific piece of legislation or who the legislation will affect if passed into law. At hearings on legislation, witnesses usually include specialists, government officials and spokesmen for persons or entities affected by the bill or bills under study. Witnesses either speak in favor of the bill, against the bill, or for informational purposes (a neutral standpoint). The public and press may attend open hearings.

In Other News

Our first annual 52nd District Day is fast approaching, on April 19th. We are gearing up to host 70+ constituents here in the Missouri House of Representatives! Please email or call our office if you are attending and wish to see a tentative schedule.