Torpey: Hope House, Record-Setting Week In General Assembly

A Special Note

Last Thursday, we were pleased to have 4th graders from Sycamore Hills Elementary in the capitol with us! We are definitely looking forward to next session/next year, when a whole new group of 4th graders from Independence are able to come visit the capitol.

Last Friday, my Legislative Aide attended the Grand Opening of the new Hope House campus in Independence. Even though we have talked about Hope House before, I think it is an amazing organization led by people who truly care about battered women across our part of the state. The workers and volunteers at Hope House continually dedicate their time and money to increasing awareness of domestic violence, and they deserve a huge thank you for their efforts and congratulations on the new campus!! If you or someone you know are a victim of domestic violence, PLEASE contact Hope House through their website or by calling 816-461-4673. I very much look forward to working with Hope House in the future.

At right: Hope House Board and CEO Mary Anne Metheny unveiling the new Therapy Building.

2011 Legislative Session continues

This week in the Missouri House was one for the record books! I am sure many of you have heard about our over-ride of Governor Nixon's veto on the new Congressional District Map. All House Republicans (105 people), along with 4 Democrats, joined together to pass a map that we truly believe is the best for our state. You can view the new map (via Google maps) here; to see which Congressional District you will now reside in, simply type your address in the search bar on the bottom right of the map.

Passed through the House this week

• SJR 2, sponsored by Senator Stouffer, allows enabling legislation for advance voting and photographic identification for voting. In the 2005 legislative session Missouri passed into law the requirement that individuals present photographic identification when they vote in person. This was in response to the public perception that something odd had happened in St. Louis during the 2004 presidential election and that in several counties - there were more individuals on the registered voting lists than people who actually lived there. At the next statewide election, you will have the opportunity to vote on SJR 2. This is an amendment to our state constitution that would allow early voting, and also would grant the legislature the power to specifically require voters to present photographic identification at the polls. This bill passed the House with a vote of 102-55, myself voting in favor.
• HB 1-13: Budget, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Silvey, addresses all of the bills dealing with our state's budget. While Washington D.C. continues to with our national financial dilemma, the Missouri House this year was able to take a common-sense, family style approach to budgeting - only spending the money that we actually have.

This session has been unique - with our current economic climate, it was challenging to craft a budget that would meet the state's needs. Not only were we able to pass a budget without new job-killing taxes, but we were able to craft a plan in line with our session-long goal of creating new jobs for Missourians.

I am proud to announce that even though our State's revenue picture continues to be grim, we were able to hold the line on our foundation formula education funding! Our local school districts will continue to be funded according to the formula. Last year we were forced to make some cuts to school bus transportation funds. This year, we were able to put some of that money back in the budget, helping our schools deal with the rising price of gasoline.

Higher Education is a different story, though the original budget recommended a 7% overall cut to funding, in our latest budget we were able to increase our original amount by $13,000,000. This increase from our original number for the year should help our universities continue to operate at a high level despite the poor economic conditions in our state.

Our budget also contains incentives to help small-businesses develop, grow, and hopefully hire new workers in our state. This session we have tried to do everything in our power to help turn around this economy, and this approach is also reflected in the budget that we passed.

Additionally, we were able to preserve Missouri Rx. This is a program that helps thousands of Missouri seniors with their prescription medications. It was tough, we had to find money that was previously used in other parts of the budget, but with a little creativity and ingenuity, we were able to cobble together funds from different areas to ensure that our prescription drug benefits would remain.

Committees

Fiscal Review met a few times this week to hold executive session.

• HCS HB 732, sponsored by Rep. Brandom, establishes the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Act and changes the laws regarding professions and businesses regulated by the Division of Professional Registration. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 9-0.
• SCS SB 323, sponsored by Senator Schaefer, requires the State Auditor to conduct a one-time comparative audit of 5 to 10 of the largest state agencies by August 28, 2013. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 7-2, myself voting in favor.
• HCS SCS SB 29, sponsored by Senator Brown, modifies the authority of the Board of Pharmacy with regard to certain drugs used in veterinary medicine and modifies various provisions of law under the title licensing of certain professions. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 8-0.
• HCS HB 504, 505, & 874, sponsored by Rep. Silvey, changes the laws regarding domestic violence and orders of protection, enacting various legislative recommendations by the Attorney General's Task Force on Domestic Violence. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 9-0.
• HCS SB 207, sponsored by Senator Lager, modifies provisions pertaining to energy and property taxation. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 8-0.
• HCS SS SB 226, sponsored by Senator Engler, modifies provisions relating to ambulance and fire protection districts. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 7-1, myself voting against the bill.
• HCS SCS SB 270, sponsored by Senator Kraus, modifies the dates available for public elections. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 6-2, myself voting in favor.
• HCS SB 284, sponsored by Senator Wasson, modifies the disciplinary authority of the Board of Pharmacy, defines the term legend drug for the purpose of certain pharmacy statutes, and grants exemption from sales tax for certain medical equipment and drugs. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 8-0.
• SS No. 2 SCS SB 320, sponsored by Senator Lamping, modifies provisions relating to domestic violence. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 8-0.
• HCS SB 322, sponsored by Senator Schaefer, extends the sunsets from September 30, 2011 to September 30, 2016, for the Ground Ambulance, Nursing Facility, Medicaid Managed Care Organization, Pharmacy, and Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded Reimbursement Allowance Taxes. The sunset for the Hospital reimbursement allowance is extended from September 30, 2011, to September 30, 2013. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 8-1, myself voting in favor.
• SCS SB 356, sponsored by Senator Munzlinger, modifies provisions pertaining to agriculture. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 10-2, myself voting in favor.
• HCS SB 60, sponsored by Senator Keaveny, enacts various provisions under the title relating to judicial procedures. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 11-1, myself voting in favor.
• HCS No. 2 SCS SB 162, sponsored by Senator Munzlinger, creates the Farm-to-Table Advisory Board, which shall be made up of at least the following 18 people: 9 people appointed to represent growers, food distributors, and state institutions; a representative of the American Heart Association; and 1 representative from each of the following state entities: the University of Missouri Extension Service, the Office of Administration, and the Departments of Agriculture, Corrections, Elementary and Secondary Education, Economic Development, Health and Senior Services, and Mental Health. The representative of the American Heart Association will be the chairperson and the board must meet at least twice, but may meet more often as needed. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 12-0.
• SS SCS SB 65, sponsored by Senator Mayer, modifies provisions relating to abortion with respect to viability. This bill passed out of committee with a vote of 8-4, myself voting in favor.

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.

Speaking with Majority Caucus Chair, Shelley Keeney, and Downsizing State Government Chair, Cole McNary.

Word of the Week

Adjournment Sine Die: On May 13th, we will adjourn Sine Die, which means the final termination of a regular or special legislative session. We will be meeting again in mid-September for Veto Session.

In Other News

Some Missouri communities are battling rising floodwaters and preparing for imminent flooding while others are beginning their recovery. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has a natural disaster resource webpage that provides residents of flood-stricken communities with important information on preparing for and recovering from flooding. The department has updated its Natural Disaster Resources webpage - dnr.mo.gov/disaster.htm - to provide community leaders, emergency responders and other individuals with fact sheets to aid in both the preparation for and recovery from recent floods.

Serving you as always,
Noel Torpey