Missouri Senate Conservative Caucus Archives

Missouri Senate bill to keep tabs on suspected mishandling of prescription drugs

March 13, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

In a historic vote, the Missouri Senate has passed a bill that would create a statewide database to track potential misuse of prescription drugs. Senate bill handler Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, says the compromise with the Missouri Senate Conservative Caucus would create a state task force of licensed medical professionals to keep tabs on how the program is doing.

Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville

“I think that met the ideological objections traditionally to it, which is that it’s a government database, the government’s not running it, it’s not a government database. We have under the legislation, two representatives from the Board of Healing Arts, two physician members, two members from the Board of Pharmacy, one member from the Board of Dentistry, and then one member from the Board of Nursing. That ensures that all the prescribers and dispensers who would be utilizing the database for patient treatment will all have access to it,” says Luetkemeyer.

He says the legislation is an improvement from the St. Louis County database that already has about 90% of Missouri in it.

“I think it brings consistency to the collection of the medical data and number two – makes sure we have greater protections for patient privacy,” Luetkemeyer says.

The measure, sponsored by Representative Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, goes back to the House with changes. Rehder has been sponsoring the legislation for the past eight years and is serving her final year in the House.

The proposal is House Bill 1693.

PDMP legislation could get final Missouri House approval on Monday

February 16, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri House is expected to give final approval to prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation this week in Jefferson City, possibly as early as Monday afternoon.

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, briefs Capitol reporters on February 13, 2020 in Jefferson City. House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, look on (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP, which is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state. State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, the bill sponsor, says we must listen to addiction specialists and doctors.

“We have to allow our recovery people to be the ones that tell us what they need for the tools in their toolbox, not those of us in the Legislature,” Rehder tells Capitol reporters.

The House voted last week 95-56 to give initial approval to the bill. Rehder’s bill had bipartisan support, with every House Democrat voting for it, including House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield.

The debate took about five hours and was emotional at times, as Representative Rehder talked about getting her grandchild out of a meth lab. She also talked about the impact the opioid epidemic is taking on Missouri families.

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, voted for Rehder’s bill, as he has every year. He’s a longtime PDMP supporter.

The 56 no votes came from Republicans, including House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann, R-O’Fallon, and House Majority Leader Rob Vescovo, R-Arnold.

State Rep. Justin Hill, R-Lake St. Louis, criticizes PDMP legislation on the Missouri House floor on February 12, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Justin Hill, R-Lake St. Louis, and other PDMP opponents say it would not stop illegal drug problems.

As for Rehder, she says Missouri Senate leaders would like to get it off the table earlier this session. She notes Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, back PDMP.

“I’m so hopeful that possibly it will come to the floor early (this year) in the Senate and that it will be allowed the time for a filibuster,” says Rehder.

Rehder’s 2019 bill was approved by the House on a bipartisan 103-53 vote, but it died in the Senate, primarily because of opposition from State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, and other members of the Senate Conservative Caucus.

Hoskins, who has privacy concerns, tells Missourinet that state government databases haven’t worked in other states. He says PDMP “has a long way to go to become law.”

“I’m not in favor of passing a bill that doesn’t work just to say we’ve ‘done something.’ Simply said, state government databases have not worked well in other states that have them. I, as well as many of my Senate colleagues, have concerns about this legislation as currently drafted. The Conservative Caucus has some ideas on how to make this House bill better to protect the privacy of Missouri citizens and we look forward to working on the bill during the upcoming weeks,” Senator Hoskins said on Sunday.

Rehder disagrees with Hoskins’ privacy concerns, saying 49 other states have PDMP. She says Missouri needs to battle drug addiction problems on the front end, and that PDMP gives physicians and medical professionals easier access.

Before Thursday’s adjournment, Floor Leader Vescovo told House members to be ready for PDMP on Monday afternoon. The House gavels-in at 4 p.m.

Missouri Senator: Parson defying Trump by continuing to accept refugees

January 21, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Sen. Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis

State Senator Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis, says Gov. Mike Parson and other Republican governors have been “guilted into” continuing to welcome international refugees to their states. Last September, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring states and local governments to submit written consent if they want to continue letting refugees resettle in their communities.

Onder, a member of the Senate Conservative Caucus, says Parson and the other governors have issued “a big rebuke” to Trump.

“President Trump expended considerable political capital to give governors the opportunity to choose whether or not the refugee resettlement program is right for their states,” he says. “By governors saying ‘No, we’re going to side with the status quo over our president, I think in many cases they did not do what’s best for their states.”

Onder says accepting additional refugees costs too much social welfare money and the state has more pressing needs.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to the Capitol Press Corps after being sworn-in as governor on June 1, 2018 in Jefferson City (file photo by Tim Bommel/UPI)

“Refugee resettlement programs – they’re very lucrative for the social service agencies that participate in them,” says Onder. “But they impose big costs on the taxpayers of those states – social welfare costs, costs of multi-lingual education when the refugees don’t speak English. We know we’re at a time when we have teachers who are very poorly paid and we’d like to pay them more. The governor talks all the time about needing more money for transportation infrastructure and workforce development. And law enforcement needs our support – we have record high murder rates in St. Louis and Kansas City.”

Onder, in his final Missouri Senate term, says Trump is committed to revamping the federal immigration system.

“We have a backlog of 330,000 asylum seekers that aren’t processed. They’re approximately one million people around the world waiting to immigrate in an orderly way,” says Onder. “Between chain migration, the visa lottery, birthright citizenship, now mass waves of so-called refugees and asylum seekers, we have really disturbed the traditional orderly immigration process, where immigrants who play by the rules have a chance to come and become Americans.”

Parson says refugees boost the state’s workforce and add value and diversity to Missouri’s cities.

Last week, a federal judge blocked Trump’s order. A Washington Post article says U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte in Maryland said in his ruling that the president’s order “flies in the face of clear Congressional intent” of the 1980 Refugee Act by allowing state and local governments to block the resettlement of refugees in their jurisdictions.

Rehder is hopeful 2020 will be the year PDMP passes in Missouri (AUDIO)

December 12, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

A southeast Missouri lawmaker is optimistic her prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation will finally pass in 2020. State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, traveled to the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on Wednesday to file House bill 1693.

State Reps. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, (left) and Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, brief Capitol reporters on December 11, 2019 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

During a Statehouse press conference about opioid issues and HIV legislation, Rehder told Missourinet there’s a renewed interest from Senate leadership in getting it off the table early in the 2020 session. She references Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, and Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia.

“They really want to get it through the Senate early,” Rehder says. “And so, however that process is, I fully trust them that that’s going to be on the (Senate) floor early this year.”

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

The Missouri House approved Rehder’s bill this year by a 103-53 vote, but the bill died in the Senate. It died primarily because of opposition from the Senate Conservative Caucus, which has six GOP members. State Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, and others in the caucus have privacy concerns with PDMP.

During an interview with Missourinet after Wednesday’s press conference, Rehder dismissed the privacy issues. She also cites the toll the opioid epidemic is taking on Missouri families.

“It just gives our physicians and medical professionals easier access,” says Rehder. “And so I think some of the fear has gone away that it’s some big brother looking at your medications. It’s not, it’s covered by HIPAA.”

HIPAA stands for the federal Health Portability and Accountability Act.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse says nearly three people a day died of opioid overdoses in St. Louis in 2018. Rehder says the opioid epidemic is impacting the entire state.

Meantime, firefighters in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights have told U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R) that they are ten times as likely to respond to a drug overdose as a fire. State Rep. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, tells Missourinet it’s critical for state lawmakers to approve the bipartisan PDMP bill.

“I think we need to do everything we can to make sure there are tool box in the tool chests for first responders. And this PDMP, I consider medical professionals first responders as well, and we need to get PDMP across the finish line,” McCreery says.

Rehder’s PDMP bill has had strong support from Democrats in both the Missouri House and Senate. It’s also supported by Senator Blunt and by U.S. Rep. Billy Long, R-Springfield.

Congressman Long visited Springfield’s Cox Medical Center South in June, describing the opioid epidemic as a “scourge.” He also noted that the opioid crisis is killing about 130 people a day nationwide.

Rehder will be serving her eighth and final year in the Missouri House in 2020, due to term limits.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and State Reps. Holly Rehder, R-Scott City, and Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, which was recorded at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City on December 11, 2019: