Legislature Archives - Missourinet

Outgoing Missouri AG Hawley and incoming AG Schmitt hold joint press conference

December 7, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri’s incoming attorney general says he’s been conducting interviews with staff members of outgoing Attorney General Josh Hawley (R).

Outgoing Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley briefs incoming AG Eric Schmitt on December 6, 2018 in Jefferson City (Brian Hauswirth photo)

Hawley and Republican Eric Schmitt, who’s currently the State Treasurer, held a joint press conference Thursday in Jefferson City, after Hawley’s senior staff briefed Schmitt in front of reporters.

Schmitt is expected to be sworn-in as attorney general on January 3.

“We anticipate that, by and large, a lot of the great people that are working here (the Missouri attorney general’s office) today will be working here in January,” Schmitt says.

Schmitt tells the Capitol Press Corps there’s many great people working in Hawley’s office. He also says a website has been established for people to send their resumes and to apply for positions.

A reporter asked Schmitt about the multi-state lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Schmitt says it’s inappropriate for him to comment on pending cases, until he’s fully briefed on them.

Hawley told Schmitt and reporters that investigations into opioid manufacturers and opioid distributors continue. He also says investigations into Google and Facebook continue.

Attorney General Hawley also says the investigation into the nonprofit organization “Mission Continues” is ongoing.

Both Hawley and Schmitt were asked by reporters about the Confide App, after a recent report in the “Kansas City Star” that a former top Hawley staffer had used it.

Hawley says there’s a policy in the attorney general’s office that Confide is not to be used for public business. He says he takes it seriously and expects all of his staffers to abide by it, adding that using Confide would be considered a clear violation of office policy.

As for Schmitt, he says no one in government should be using Confide for public business.

Hawley also addressed several other big cases he’s been involved in during his two years as attorney general.

He says it’s time to restructure Missouri’s legal expense fund, which is used to make payments that stem from lawsuits against the state.

“My own view is that it is time to require (state) agencies, all agencies, to pay at least a portion of the judgments and settlements against them, out of their own budgets,” says Hawley.

Hawley says that when he took office in January 2017, there were about $450 million in pending claims against the fund. He says it’s now down to about $400 million.

Missouri lawmakers this year approved legislation from then-House Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, that requires the Missouri attorney general to submit a monthly report to lawmakers about the state legal expense fund.

While Hawley had already been doing that, Beatty wanted it to be state statute. She emphasized transparency, and her bill had wide, bipartisan support.

In a response to a Thursday question from Missourinet, Hawley says a popular recreational lake in southeast Missouri which has seen multiple deaths remains closed.

Mr. Hawley’s office filed a lawsuit in late July against “The Offsets“, which is a former quarry near Fredericktown. Hawley says the facility has been the site of at least nine deaths and numerous serious injuries.

“If ever there’s a public nuisance, this is it,” Hawley says. “And people think of barking dogs as public nuisances, this is people dying. It’s a very serious matter.”

The quarry is surrounded by 40-foot bluffs, where people jump in a lake. Hawley has called on the owners to fence off the highest bluffs and to place a dock on the water.

Hawley, who unseated Senator Claire McCaskill in November, will resign as attorney general on January 3.

Pre-filed bill in Missouri Legislature would be among the most restrictive abortion measures in the nation

December 6, 2018 By Jason Taylor

Missouri lawmakers could be considering a far-reaching abortion restriction in the upcoming legislative session.

Republican Missouri State Rep. Nick Schroer of O’Fallon (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications}

Republican state Representative Nick Schroer of O’Fallon pre-filed a bill this week that would prohibit doctors from performing abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The measure, which allows for exceptions in medical emergencies, would ban most abortions after six weeks. Reproductive rights group contend many women don’t even know they’re pregnant at that time.

Schroer’s proposal builds on stricter abortion restrictions enacted by Republican lawmakers and former GOP Governor Eric Greitnens after a special session in 2017. It also comes after a U.S. appeals court this year reversed a lower federal court decision that had blocked Missouri laws requiring doctors to be affiliated with hospitals and abortion clinics to be licensed as outpatient surgery centers.

Iowa passed a law this year banning abortions after detection of a fetal heartbeat, but a judge temporarily blocked its enactment until a legal challenge against it by the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa and Planned Parenthood can be decided.

North Dakota and Arkansas also have passed similar laws, only to see them overturned by federal courts. So far, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the lower court decisions.

But Republicans in states such as South Carolina have vowed to introduce fetal heartbeat legislation in 2019, possibly feeling emboldened by Supreme Court appointments made by President Trump, who campaigned on a promise to nominate anti-abortion judges.

Recently-confirmed Justice Brett Kavanaugh has indicated through his writings that he would allow for more strict regulations on abortion. Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion after the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a 17-year-old to end her pregnancy over objections from the Trump administration.

Schroer’s measure would require physicians to conduct tests to determine if a fetal heartbeat is present. If one is not detected, an abortion would be allowed within a four day period. If the procedure was not performed within the four-day window, a new fetal heartbeat detection test would be required.

Incoming Senate Appropriations Chairman brings experience with state budget in flux

December 5, 2018 By Jason Taylor

When incoming Missouri Senate President Pro-Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, announced that Senator Dan Hegeman would be the next chairman of the chamber’s Appropriations Committee, he made reference to the Cosby Republican’s financial experience in the state Legislature.

“Senator Hegeman brings over a decade of state budget experience to the table,” said Schatz.

Hegeman served 11 years as a state representative, having been first elected in 1990 before term-limits were imposed in 1994. He was a member of the Budget Committee for the entirety of his tenure in the lower chamber. He’s also been a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee for the past two years and served as county clerk, the chief budget officer, in Andrew County for five years during his time away from the Legislature.

The University of Missouri graduate enters into a budget leadership position when it’s not exactly known why the state is experiencing a financial shortfall after finishing the last fiscal year in June with a $280 million surplus. As of the end of October, Missouri had a $110 million deficit in the current year. There’s no danger of any withholding of funds for state services in the near term with last year’s excess providing a $180 million surplus, but the monthly numbers are being closely examined by the Department of Revenue and state Budget Director Dan Haug.

Meanwhile, state lawmakers, the executive branch and an economist from the University of Missouri are meeting in December to figure out the Consensus Revenue Estimate (CRE), the key monetary figure mutually agreed upon that’s used to construct the operating budget. Estimates will be formulated for the rest of the current fiscal year, and for fiscal year 2020, which begins next July.

Although outgoing Senate Appropriations Chairman Dan Brown, R-Rolla, will play a major role in determining the upcoming CRE, Hegeman is expecting to be consulted during discussions.

He thinks part of the budget shortfall is linked to an error in figuring income tax tables, a problem that’s since been corrected by the Revenue Department.

“The fact that they redid the tables this fall indicates that that is certainly part of the problem,” said Hegeman. “I think that many economists and our budget staff think that this will turn around once people start filing their income taxes.”

The Revenue Department announced in late September it was reworking the tables after determining it was under collecting income taxes from individuals. The agency said the unexpected decrease in withholding is due to a longstanding inaccurate calculation of the federal tax deduction that had previously gone undetected.

It’s thought that another possible reason for the current shortfall could be tied to the Congressional tax overhaul that went into effect at the beginning of 2018. Hegeman says it’s not certain how changes in Washington are affecting Missouri tax collections.

“That’s one theory that I’ve heard that’s out there,” Hegeman said. “(I) don’t know that for a fact, but that’s one idea that’s out there as to why the revenues may be coming in short.”

Missouri income taxes are tied to the federal standard deduction which was doubled by Congress – from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and from $12,700 to $24,000 for those filing jointly. Hegeman said there’s some concern that the state may not have adjusted correctly for the change, although filing for 2018 income taxes won’t begin until January.

The newly re-elected state Senator points out that certain tax credits are causing some of the shortfall.

“I know there’s been a lot of tax credit applications and tax credit refunds going out there right now,” Hegeman said. “That’s been some of the deficit attributed to that.”

Regardless of how tax collections play out over the short term, Missouri’s overall income tax rate will be significantly reduced beginning January 1.

A bill signed into law this year will drop the income tax rate most Missourians pay by four-tenths of a percent. Hegeman defends the legislation as responsible, saying it eliminates numerous tax exemptions to be largely revenue neutral, allowing for more Missourians to pay lower taxes.

“Certainly, anytime we can close some of these loopholes and provide a benefit to a broader base, there are many of us that believe that’s a positive tax policy decision to make,” said Hegeman.

Combined with another tax cut triggered by increases in revenue collections, the state’s income tax rate will drop from the current 5.9% to 5.4% in January.

After years of being involved in the public budgeting process doing what he calls “yeoman’s work”, Hegeman says he’s ready to assume a bigger role in managing Missouri’s finances.

“I certainly look to be guiding the process and moving our appropriations/budget process through the system, getting the state budget done in a timely fashion,” Hegeman said. “It’s one of our only constitutional mandated duties that the Legislature needs to accomplish.”

Most states have a statute or a constitutional requirement to balance their budgets, with Vermont being the notable exception.

Despite voters opposing Right-to-Work ballot measure, bill returns to Missouri Legislature in 2019

December 5, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

The state legislature will be asked next year whether to bar Missouri businesses from requiring workers to pay mandatory union fees. The bill is being sponsored by Republican Senator-Elect Eric Burlison of Springfield, who has sponsored similar legislation while previously serving in the Missouri House.

Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications

State Representative Holly Rehder, a Republican of southeast Missouri’s Sikeston, sponsored a Right-to-Work bill in the last session. It raced through the General Assembly and was signed into law by former Gov. Eric Greitens.

Rushing the legislation through allowed labor groups more time to gather enough signatures for a public vote. In August, voters overwhelmingly opposed a ballot measure that asked whether Missouri should be a Right-to-Work state. It lost by a landslide 67-to-32 percent margin.

Opponents of the measure had a major financial advantage in the primary election. Labor organizations from inside and outside Missouri poured money into the effort to prevent Missouri from becoming a Right-to-Work state. The lead group behind the opposition, We are Missouri, spent $15.3 million, according to its filings with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

By comparison, the organization Freedom to Work spent roughly $1.9 million to support the measure, known as Proposition A, while Missourians For Freedom to Work spent just over $1.3 million to back the proposal.

Parson: Trade normalcy will take patience

December 4, 2018 By Missourinet Contributor

Gov. Mike Parson

Gov. Mike Parson says he looks for good things from trade breakthroughs with China, Canada and Mexico, but he says it will take patience. He says the signing of the new North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico and a positive meeting between President Trump and China’s leader are huge for Missouri agriculture, but he says a resolution to trade challenges will take time.

“I think sometimes you have to kind of think outside the box to really make changes and that’s difficult to do sometimes in bureaucracy,” Parson tells Brownfield Ag News. “I think we’re going to be better off at the end of these deals when they’re done than we were before, and I think that’s all we can ask for.”

Parson says patience is hard to come by for farmers already hit by drought and a bad economy.

The governor spoke to reporters at the Missouri Farm Bureau Convention.

By Tom Steever of Brownfield Ag News

Missouri legislator pre-files bill again in response to 2017 education chief shakeup

December 4, 2018 By Alisa Nelson

State Sen. Gary Romine is proposing to refine the Senate’s confirmation process of gubernatorial appointments when his chamber is not in session. Former Gov. Eric Greitens, a Republican, fired and replaced Missouri Board of Education members last year until he could find ones willing to terminate Margie Vandeven as education

Senator Gary Romine, R-Farmington

commissioner. Ironically, the board, which no longer consists of Greitens’ appointments, has re-hired Vandeven for the top education job.

“We just want to make sure we clarify the process so that we don’t have the games that were played last year,” Romine tells Missourinet. “The termination of her (Vandeven) employment was not done properly, there was no cause for that termination. With the debacle that took place over last year, I’m glad to see the board decided to give her another opportunity to take on that job.”

Romine was among the long line snaking around the education building hallway last year when two meetings were called in an effort to oust Vandeven. Education and legislative leaders, press members and other interested parties were there to watch the outcome for themselves.

Romine, a Republican from Farmington, has served on the Senate’s Education Committee for six years. He is currently the chairman of the committee and hopes to be chosen again for the role in the next legislative session.

Vandeven will return to her previous role next month.

Missouri legislators are pre-filing bills for the upcoming session that begins January 9.

Missouri prescription drug monitoring program legislation to be filed Monday by Rehder (AUDIO)

December 2, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

A southeast Missouri lawmaker who has championed prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation for years thinks it will “make it over the finish line” in 2019.

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, speaks on the Missouri House floor on March 15, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, will make the drive from southeast Missouri to Jefferson City on Monday morning to pre-file PDMP legislation. Rehder says she and State Sen.-Elect Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, will pre-file the same bill on Monday.

“We are really looking forward to getting this passed this year. We have leadership in both houses (Missouri House and Senate) being excited to get it done,” Rehder says.

A PMDP is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP.

The Missouri House and Senate approved different versions of the bill in 2017, but the Senate version contained a prescriber mandate provision, which the Missouri State Medical Association opposed. The House approved Rehder’s bill by a bipartisan 102-54 vote that year.

Rehder worked on the final day of the 2017 legislative session to come up with a compromise, but ran out of time. She choked-up when she told a Missourinet reporter that day that her bill was dead.

“There’s so many families that just really need this, and, I’m sorry- but, I’m not giving up, I’m a fighter, and I know that we need to get this done,” Rehder said on the final day of the 2017 session.

Rehder told Missourinet Friday afternoon that PDMP legislation is needed because of the toll the opioid epidemic is taking on families.

“When physicians, when your medical professionals don’t have this information about their patients, they’re literally operating with half of the skills that they need,” says Rehder.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D) and U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, have both called on Missouri lawmakers to approve a PDMP, saying it would help prevent drug-shopping.

Senator McCaskill addressed the issue with Missourinet, after a July 2017 town hall meeting in Ashland. She urged then-Governor Eric Greitens (R) to call a special session for PDMP.

“I’m astounded that we are the only state in the union that has put out a welcome mat for heroin dealers,” McCaskill told Missourinet that evening. “I do not understand it. It is really mind-bending. It is the biggest public health crisis this country has faced in many years.”

Congresswoman Hartzler says the topic came up recently when she met with Walmart pharmacy management and staff in western Missouri’s Butler. Hartzler says there have been several documented cases of individuals from other states visiting Missouri Walmart pharmacies to take advantage of the lack of monitoring in Missouri.

Pre-filing for the 2019 session begins Monday morning in Jefferson City.

Rehder tells Missourinet that House Speaker-designee Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, has always supported PDMP.

“He actually brought it up to me a couple of months ago and said ‘Hey I would really like to get this out of the House early,'” Rehder says. “To of course my excitement, but it’s important to him.”

She also notes that Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, has been a sponsor of PDMP legislation.

Rehder says while about 87 percent of Missouri’s population is currently covered by county PDMP’s, only about 60 to 70 counties have it. She says many small, rural counties that lack PDMP are suffering because of the opioid crisis.

Click here to listen to Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, which was recorded on November 30, 2018:

Kolkmeyer: Missouri transportation talks are happening behind scenes (AUDIO)

December 2, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

One of the GOP leaders in the Missouri House is disappointed that voters rejected a ten-cent gasoline tax increase in November.

State Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer, R-Odessa, presides over the Missouri House on March 26, 2018 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer, who is the outgoing House Majority Caucus Chair, tells Missourinet talks are happening “behind the scenes.”

“I’ve been talking to some of the people in the (transportation) coalition about what is possible down the road,” Kolkmeyer says. “Some people want to wait, some people want to file something right away.”

Kolkmeyer supported Proposition D, saying it would have provided the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) with additional money, and would have provided the Missouri State Highway Patrol with a dedicated funding source.

Despite backing from Governor Mike Parson (R), Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R), the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and the Teamsters and other labor organizations, Proposition D failed by about 173,000 votes statewide on November 6.

Kolkmeyer, who served for 20 years as chief of the Wellington-Napoleon Fire Protection District in western Missouri, says MoDOT needs additional funding. He says a snow-related crash last week in Bates City highlights how many people drive Interstate 70.

“We had to transport crossways in the middle of I-70 and also blocking an on-ramp of I-70 at Bates City, the 31-mile marker,” says Kolkmeyer. “And traffic was backed up over five miles for that.”

A Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) crew plows snow on Highway 59 near northwest Missouri’s Oregon on November 25, 2018 (photo courtesy of MoDOT)

Kolkmeyer notes MoDOT has dealt with several rare November snowstorms.

“MoDOT, they’re doing a great job getting our highways cleaned as fast as they can. In our area we had five inches of snow on top of a thick layer of ice,” Kolkmeyer says.

Missouri’s 17-cent gasoline tax has remained the same since 1996. Proposition D supporters say that because of inflation, Missouri’s 17-cent gasoline tax is worth just seven cents of the value it had 22 years ago.

Kolkmeyer, who represents Jackson, Johnson and Lafayette Counties, was re-elected to his fourth and final House term in November. He received about 69 percent of the vote to defeat Democratic challenger Connie Simmons.

While he will return to the House in January, Kolkmeyer will not be part of the House GOP leadership team in 2019. The new Majority Caucus Chair will be State Rep. Sonya Anderson, R-Springfield.

One southwest Missouri lawmaker who’s leaving office at the end of December because of term limits predicts Missouri lawmakers will tackle the transportation issue again in January.

State Rep. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City, told Missourinet the day after the November election that lawmakers will have to make a decision about additional funding for road repairs for MoDOT.

“Because the last thing we want to do is have to do a lot of work after an accident happens and a bridge collapses etc.,” Davis said on November 7. “So I think the Legislature this next year is going to do some good things for transportation in Missouri.”

One possibility is a proposal that House Speaker-designee Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, pushed in 2018. His bill would have indexed vehicle user fees to the cost of inflation.

Haahr testified before a House committee in March, saying that his plan to index those fees would generate about $174 million annually for the state’s road fund.

Haahr has noted that Missouri’s current vehicle license and registration fees haven’t changed in more than 30 years.

The 2019 legislative session will begin on Wednesday January 9 in Jefferson City.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Rep. Glen Kolkmeyer, R-Odessa, which was recorded on November 28, 2018 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Mid-Missouri Republican lawmaker wants to streamline permits for business expansion

November 30, 2018 By Jason Taylor

There’ll be some focus on streamlining the process for businesses to expand or relocate in Missouri during the upcoming legislative session.

Rep. Tim Remole, R-Excello

State Representative Tim Remole hopes to address the length of time it takes a company to obtain necessary permits during the 2019 General Assembly. The Excello Republican sponsored a measure last session that would require state agencies to more quickly approve or deny permit applications from businesses seeking to create at least 20 full-time jobs.

The bill didn’t cross the finish line but Remole is hopeful it can be amended into an omnibus piece of legislation centered on development this year. “Where we have a lot of great ideas (brought) into an economic development bill, workforce development,” said Remole.

Remole sees Department of Natural Resources Director Carol Comer as an ally in creating a business-friendly environment. “She has a great record from where she came from on the permitting process,” Remole said. “She wants to get that permitting process down to about six months if possible, which is a great thing,” Remole said.

The Department of Natural Resources oversees the state’s environmental concerns. Comer is an environmental lawyer who previously served as commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management under then Republican Governor Mike Pence.

She was appointed to her post in Jefferson City by former Republican Governor Eric Greiten, who championed the loosening of regulations during his 18-month tenure. While being introduced by Geitens in January 2017, Comer said her department worked with the Department of Economic Development to create jobs and attract businesses and investment to Indiana. Republican lawmakers in Missouri have had a contentious relationship with the Department of Natural Resources, blaming it for inhibiting job creation with onerous penalties.

Remole thinks the pieces are now in place to step up the process of approving business permits, especially with Governor Mike Parson’s emphasis on jobs. “With the Governor’s top priority being workforce development, and permitting being a big part of that, I think we’re seeing it move forward,” said Remole.

The bill Remole sponsored in the last session applied to businesses committed to creating 20 or more jobs. It would’ve required state agencies to approve or deny permit applications from businesses within six months. Any application not addressed by the agency within the six-month window would automatically be deemed approved. The state could receive an extension of its decision-making time period but would have the burden to prove good cause if challenged by a business in court. Once approved for a permit application, no agency would be allowed challenge the growth or establishment of a business unless it was for a reason other than business expansion or development.

Remole is a senior state representative who will begin his final two-year term in office in January.

(Missourinet affiliate KWIX contributed to this report)

Missouri House Ethics Committee meets behind closed doors again

November 28, 2018 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House Ethics Committee met Wednesday morning in Jefferson City for the second time this month, but it’s still unclear what they discussed.

State Rep. Kevin Austin, R-Springfield, testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on September 11, 2018 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

While the committee hearing took place at the Statehouse, most of the Ethics Committee members who participated in the meeting were on the phone. Committee chairman Kevin Austin, R-Springfield, vice-chair Gina Mitten, D-St. Louis, and three other committee members called in.

After a roll call vote, the committee voted to close the hearing and met for about 90 minutes in closed session, before re-opening the hearing.

Committee Chairman Austin then announced to the two reporters in the Capitol hearing room that they adjourned, pending further investigation by the committee and its legal counsel.

While a complaint has been filed, it’s unclear what it involves and who it’s against.

State Reps. Glen Kolkmeyer, R-Odessa, and Pat Conway, D-St. Joseph, the only two House Ethics Committee members who attended in-person today, told reporters they cannot comment.

A Missourinet reporter did not see any other lawmakers enter or exit the hearing room, while the committee met in closed session.

The House Ethics Committee also met on November 7 at the Capitol, to discuss a complaint. It’s unclear if today’s meeting is related to the November 7th meeting.