The Missouri Senate leader says two state senators and a Senate staff member who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered.
Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) briefs Capitol reporters on March 12, 2020 in Jefferson City, as Democratic Leader John Rizzo (D-Kansas City) and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) look on (file photo from Missourinet’s Alisa Nelson)
Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says the full Senate plans to return to Jefferson City next week.
“I haven’t spoken to both of them (the two state senators who tested positive for COVID) but I’ve spoken with one of those senators and he has fully recovered and feeling fine. And I do believe the other senator according to reports, that he is fine also and fully recovered,” Schatz says.
Schatz and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, announced last Monday that the Senate would postpone debate and votes on the proposed $1.2 billion supplemental budget until after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, due to the positive COVID cases. Schatz says that decision was not made lightly and was done in the best interest of protecting senators, staff members and the public.
Pro Tem Schatz tells Missourinet that the Senate will return next Tuesday afternoon to debate and vote on the supplemental budget. He says the Senate needs two days to get it done, and that will include time for committee hearings.
“Our plan is we adjourned until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1,” says Schatz. “So we are planning to come back and take up some of the appropriations work that the House has sent over to us.”
The House approved the supplemental budget on November 10, on a bipartisan 133-4 vote. The budget deploys federal resources across numerous state departments.
It also provides more authority to spend federal dollars on personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing. It also addresses Missouri’s unemployment fund shortage.
Schatz expects a final vote on the supplemental budget next Wednesday. If the Senate approves it as is, it would go straight to the governor’s desk. If any changes are made, the budget would go to a conference committee.
Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on November 23, 2020:
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