Sater: Session Recap

This year’s session is now officially over, unless the Governor brings us back for a Special Session. He was a little disappointed that we did not pass an economic jobs bill. So was I, but the Senate and House could never come together. We will not come back unless there is an agreement made before we convene. It would be a waste of taxpayer money if all we did was come to Jefferson City, debate, and not get a bill finalized. However, we did pass a bill [SB19] to eliminate the Corporate Franchise Tax. This is a huge step for business development in Missouri and will ensure future job growth.

It was an interesting mix of legislation this year. We fixed Prop B. [SB161] If it hadn’t been fixed, thousands of jobs would have been lost in Missouri. The changes provide better protections for dogs while allowing good dog breeders to stay in business. Every Missouri animal rights group, every Missouri agricultural organization, and all dog breeding groups supported the final legislation.

Senate Joint Resolution 2 was passed and dealt with voter identification. We want everyone to have a right to vote, plus ensure that every voter casts only one vote. This bill will go before the people for a vote.

We passed a good right to life bill, HB 213. Any abortion procedure over 20 weeks after conception will be prohibited, there are also stipulations regarding a second physician and the viability of the child outside the womb. Ending the life of a child struggling to live is wrong.

Every 10 years the federal government does a census and it is the legislature’s duty to redraw the congressional districts. Since Missouri did not grow as much as other parts of the nation, we lost a congressional seat and now have only 8 seats. We passed the map [HB193] out of the Senate and House, but the Governor vetoed it. However, we had enough votes in the House, including 4 Democrats, to override the veto. This is a rare thing to accomplish and has not been done more than a few times in the last 30 years.

Cassville once again experienced some flooding because of over 10 inches of rain. It certainly could have been worse. The new bridges over Flat Creek kept the water flowing. But there was just too much water and it spread out even over parts of Main Street. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is waiving specific solid waste and air pollution regulations. This will give Barry County some flexibility in cleaning up. The waiver which includes Barry County will allow vegetative waste which normally is excluded from permitted sanitary landfills, to be taken to such landfills if the landfill agrees to accept the waste.

I will be talking about other legislation including some of my own in upcoming articles. If you have any questions about the legislation focused on in this Straighttalk or any other legislation, feel free to inquire and I will get back with you.