Dave Schatz Archives - Missourinet

Missouri Senate calls off next week’s session; House pushes forward

March 12, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Add the Missouri Senate to the growing list of places taking measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. The upper chamber has called off next week’s session.

As for the House, Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, says the House Budget Committee will meet Sunday and the full House will return next Wednesday. On Twitter, Haahr says the House will pass a state budget next week.

From left: Sens. John Rizzo, Dave Schatz, Caleb Rowden

During a press conference today at the state Capitol, Senate President Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, says many events and schools have taken precautions to protect themselves against the respiratory illness.

“We feel it may be in the best interest for us to not be in this petri dish that we all show up in every week,” says Schatz. “With nothing seriously pressing the Senate, the decision was made from a cautious – not a panic perspective – to take next week off and see how this progresses.”

One positive coronavirus case in Missouri has been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The victim is a St. Louis County woman in her 20s who returned last week from studying abroad in Italy.

A group of Mizzou Journalism School students in Columbia went to the same conference as someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. The organization Investigative Reporters and Editors says the patient has mild symptoms after spending a few days late last week at the conference in New Orleans.

Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, says no particular incident led to the move.

“We come from all over the state, as do all the other people who come here,” says Rowden. “Even to take that a step further, people who fly in to testify on bills, they’re flying in from other states. We have no understanding of where they’ve come from, the variables around their situation.”

The Legislature’s spring break is the week of March 23. That means Senators will be out until at least March 30. Rowden says the return date could change, depending how things play out with virus concerns.

“We’re going to get done what we need to get done. We’re going to pass a budget,” says Rowden. “If we need to get creative in figuring out how we do that, we’re willing to do that. We’ll get done what we need to get done. The state of Missouri is running, everything is fine but we need to be prepared. Being proactive and figuring on the back end that you were too cautious is much, much better than the reverse.”

Senate offices will be closed through March 29, but employees are supposed to work from home during regular business hours.

House Committee to consider parameters, list of targets for bonding proposal

March 5, 2013 By Mike Lear

The state House Committee preparing a more than $1 billion bond proposal will consider the first on-the-record list of projects that might support, next week.

Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia, left) and Representative Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield) are the chair and co-chair, respectively, of the House Appropriations Committee on Infrastructure and Job Creation.

In its hearing today it was announced that Representative Lincoln Hough (R-Springfield) will offer that list.

“The resolution would essentially be a framework of priority projects across the state to allow the citizens and the voters the opportunity to actually see the economic benefit that will be coming to their community if this moves through the process.”

Some projects that have been discussed are replacement of much of Fulton State Mental Hospital, renovations and repairs at the State Capitol and state parks, numerous improvements or new facilities at colleges and universities and some rural water upgrades.

The authorization for a bond issuance would have to come from voters, and some committee members raised concerns that Kansas City and St. Louis voters won’t support the proposal if it doesn’t include enough projects in those areas. Hough thinks there will be enough for everyone.

“I think we can bridge the gap between any sort of rural and urban issues that one area may think we need a little more or someone else wants a little more, but people need to look at this as a whole … what’s good for the state economic impact overall?”

The Committee will also consider what the price tag on that proposal will be. The resolutions introduced in the House and the Senate both propose a $950 million dollar plan, but lawmakers have speculated that figure could change. The Committee’s Chairman, Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia), will offer a proposal to set a target of $1.2 billion dollars, and members will debate whether to raise or lower that amount.

See our earlier stories on a state bonding proposal.

Representative Kevin Engler (R-Farmington) and Representative Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) will work on an amendment that would add a cost-share component to have colleges and local governments cover part of the cost of their projects, either through cash or in-kind work.

Engler says he knows that idea has gotten the attention of higher education representatives.

“They’re not usually interested in putting up their own money, and in reality they only way we’re going to make this stretch to all the projects that have been proposed is to have some local cost-share match. They have to have some skin in the game. They have to have some incentive locally so that they can get money from the state.”

Schatz says a cost-share would make sure bond proceeds are used responsibly and would make colleges be more careful in selecting projects.

“If there’s a participation mechanism in there I think they will define those projects more on a need basis as opposed to on a wants basis.”

Amendments will also be considered to make energy efficiency a consideration of a bonding-backed project, and to create a “watchdog group” to oversee the use of the bond money.

Maker tells House lawmakers new drug is harder to use to make meth

March 29, 2012 By Mike Lear

Once again a proposal has been offered in the House to require a prescription for the purchase of cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine, because those products can be used to make methamphetamine. The bill’s sponsor says it has a “new twist,” however.

Representative Dave Schatz presents HB 1952

Representative Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) says a new provision in the bill would specify that drugs that are not feasible for use in making meth would not require a prescription. Schatz tells the House Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety a new product is about to reach the market that fits that description.

“There’s a technology that’s been developed that does not allow for the extraction of any more than … less than five percent of its volume to be turned into meth. Currently the pseudoephedrine that’s out there has a very, very much higher extraction rate and that’s what’s used to make methamphetamine.”

The maker of the new technology, called Tarex, is Highland Pharmaceuticals, based in St. Louis. President and CEO Jim Bausch, tells lawmakers, “We can defeat all the methods used for clandestine production of methamphetamine.” He says the new drug, to be marketed under the name Relēva, will be on the market in four to six weeks.

The bill, and the product, were supported in the hearing by several law enforcement organizations. Cape Girardeau County Sheriff John Jordan equated the new product to when Henry Ford’s Model “T” replaced the horse & buggy. “These folks should be applauded. This is the silver bullet for meth labs.”

Several groups spoke against the legislation, saying the effectiveness of this new product remains to be seen and the prescription requirement adds cost and inconvenience for Missourians who use currently available cold medicines. Missouri Pharmacy Association CEO Ron Fitzwater says it’s too early to base statute on this product. “I hope we’re sitting here next year, we’re talking about an extremely successful product that has come into our stores … that our members have seen market shares shift and they’ve started to move some of the other products off the counter, but today that’s not the situation we’re in. We’ve got a hypothetical product that looks very positive.”

The President of the Missouri Narcotics Association, Sergeant Jason Grellner, disputes Fitzwater’s statement that the product is not ready. “This has been tested by the DEA for many weeks. They can’t break it. I’ve talked to the laboratory people, I sent it to the DEA laboratory. I sat and tried to make meth out of it with a one pot bottle. You can’t do it with this product.”

Some lawmakers raised concerns about passing Schatz’s bill. Minority Whip Mike Colona (D-St. Louis) said, “So then what we really are going to do is legislate a preference for that drug company to sell its products in Missouri.”

Representative Brandon Ellington (D-Kansas City) says it would set a dangerous precedent. “Then we could pick and choose whatever industry we want and promote whatever company we want to promote, as opposed to promoting public safety. If we were promoting public safety, it seems like that would be something that would be patented or made law for all drug companies to have the same requirements, that their drugs could not be broke down to make methamphetamine.”

Bausch attempted to alleviate those concerns. “We will be glad to work with any other company that wants to adopt this technology for their pseudoephedrine products.”

The Committee has not had a vote on the bill.