Representative Lane Roberts Archives

Missouri prison system could move officer training from classroom to real-world setting

February 22, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

In 2019, Gov. Mike Parson closed a prison in northwest Missouri’s Cameron. Most staff and inmates transferred to the other prison in town – Western Missouri Correctional Center. Now, Parson wants to reopen the Crossroads Correctional Center and turn it into a training academy for correctional officers.

Gov. Mike Parson

During a House Budget Committee hearing, Trevor Foley with the state Department of Corrections, says the officers would have a better sense of the surroundings they would be in.

“Currently, all of our institutional staff receive their training in a classroom setting,” says Foley. “We believe that we can improve the quality of our training by training them in an environment that looks like the one they’re going to be working in. You’d be able to learn how to do a cell search or a cell extraction from an actual cell.”

Joplin Republican Representative Lane Roberts, a former Missouri Department of Public Safety Director, says he wholeheartedly endorses the plan.

“The idea is to give the officers basically a real setting experience, so that when they do find themselves faced with this, they will know not only what to do but have some sense of the surroundings they’ll be operating in. For whatever it’s worth, I have to tell you I think this is an excellent use of any of our surplus,” says Roberts.

The proposal is part of the governor’s $34.1 billion budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning in July.

Foley thinks the return on investment would be net positive within five years.

“A significant portion of the expenses of our training operations are lodging for staff that have to go to one of our three regional centers. We believe that by converting one of the housing units at the facility to residential space, the trainings will be able to stay on site and that will significantly reduce our lodging costs,” says Foley.

The Missouri prison system’s construction crew would make the renovations.

The governor’s budget proposal also includes a 2% pay increase for state workers beginning next January.

“Historically, retention has been a problem. That is why the department had our retention pay plan two years. What we have really seen in the last year has been a significant struggle in recruiting new people into the class. So, this is designed to move the entry level salaries up to aid in recruitment,” says Foley.

The fiscal plan would give an additional 2% pay increase for three cook classes and an extra 3% salary boost for three custody classes, beginning next January.

Top Missouri laws taking effect today

August 28, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Several bills become law today that the Missouri Legislature passed during the second regular session of the 100th General Assembly. Here is a snapshot of the top bills approved by lawmakers and signed by Gov. Mike Parson:

Top Missouri laws taking effect today

Partial motorcycle helmet law repeal
House Bill 1963 is a sweeping transportation bill allowing motorcycle drivers 26 years and older to go helmetless if they have their own health insurance. It requires insurance to cover medical costs for injuries from a motorcycle crash. Under the plan sponsored by Representative Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, motorcycle passengers would still be required to wear a helmet.

Cameras within long-term care patient rooms
St. Louis Representative Jim Murphy’s bill will let long-term care center patients put electronic monitoring devices in their rooms. Murphy, a Republican, tells Missourinet House Bill 1387 allows devices like video cameras to be placed within patient rooms at Missouri nursing homes, assisted living centers and mental hospitals. Under the plan, a visible sign must be placed in rooms where monitoring is occurring. Murphy says he thinks the devices will help to address potential abuse and neglect and help families stay in contact with their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone featured in a recording must approve of the release of the recording unless the information is being given to law enforcement for investigative purposes.

Changes to Missouri’s foster care system
House Bill 1414 is comprehensive legislation about Missouri’s foster care system. It requires the creation of a response team to review the practices of the state Children’s Division and any contractors. The package gives Missouri’s homeless kids access to a free birth certificate and provides them with Medicaid health coverage. Representative Sheila Solon, R-St. Joseph, is sponsoring the proposal ensuring foster parents have access, at the time of placement, to full medical records of a child placed with them. It also clarifies that a child’s attendance in court hearings should only take place when the judge and family support believe it is in the best interest of the child.

Further healthcare coverage for certain conditions
Former state Representative David Wood, R-Versailles, is the sponsor of a wide-ranging healthcare bill allowing pregnant Missouri women on Medicaid to have access to mental health services for postpartum depression or related conditions for up to an additional 12 months. Previous law gave the benefits to eligible mothers for up to 60 days after giving birth. The extra help depends on state budget and federal approval.

House Bill 1682 also specifies that coverage for certain breast cancer screening and evaluation services must be provided annually to any woman deemed by her physician to have an above-average risk for breast cancer. Furthermore, the bill requires coverage of ultrasound or MRI services when determined by a physician to be medically necessary for any woman deemed by the doctor to have an above-average risk of breast cancer.

Rape kits testing
Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, sponsored legislation streamlining Missouri’s testing process for sexual assault evidence kits and it creates a statewide task force aimed at protecting the rights of assault victims. Senate Bill 569 requires the state to create a centralized place to store untested rape kits and requires those kits to be stored for at least five years. Missouri has about 6,800 untested rape kits.

Tort Reform
Senate Bill 591 puts new limits on punitive damages in liability lawsuits. It allows juries to award punitive damages only when plaintiffs prove by clear and convincing evidence that defendants “intentionally harmed” someone without just cause or acted with “deliberate and flagrant disregard for the safety of others.” The business-friendly measure is sponsored by Sen. Bill White, R-Joplin.

Medical marijuana
Lawmakers passed changes to the state’s new medical marijuana industry. The FBI informed the state health department, which regulates the industry, that the Missouri agency will not have access to its national fingerprint background check database. Representative Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, says his legislation will clear up that problem. Under House Bill 1896, the agency requires fingerprints from medical marijuana business employees and department employees associated with licensing medical marijuana businesses. It bans medical marijuana edibles designed in the shape of a human, animal, or fruit, including realistic, artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings. However, geometric shapes, including, but not limited to, circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles, are allowed.

Missouri leaders brief panel about COVID-19 response efforts

August 12, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

A Missouri House Committee heard Tuesday from state Department of Health and Senior Services Director Randall Williams and K-12 Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven. During a public hearing at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, they briefed lawmakers about the state’s response to COVID-19, its spending of federal coronavirus relief funds, and reopening measures taken by Missouri’s schools.

Missouri Education Commissioner Margie Vandeven

The hearing is the second time the Special Committee on Disease Control and Prevention has met. The first time was in March.

Vandeven says the state’s goal is to get as many school buildings open as possible and as safely as possible. She says students could take a real toll if they miss out on months of in-person learning.

“We’re hearing about an increase in suicides,” says Vandeven. “We’re hearing about just what this long-term social and emotional development, particularly for our youngest learners, the impact that we could see decades from now.”

Representative Lane Roberts, a Republican from Joplin and a former Missouri Public Safety Director, says not all students will be safe at home if they are doing online classes.

“When they’re out doing other things, they’re engaging in activities that in my opinion, based on some experience, that those activities generate more injury and death than they would suffer from the virus,” says Roberts.

Vandeven says parents and school leaders should consider both sides of the risk.

“If you go back to any kind of time frame when they are out of school, you do see increases in some of the activities that you are talking about,” she says.

According to Vandeven, the state has distributed as much federal coronavirus aid to Missouri schools as it can at this time. She says Missouri’s local governments can also use their own federal aid to support school-related health measures.

State Representative Kip Kendrick, D-Columbia, passionately encouraged all Missouri school leaders to require students and staff to wear masks.
“For the life of me, I cannot understand why it’s not 10%,” says Kendrick. “If we want to do in-seat, if we want to do this correctly, why is it not 100%.”

Vandeven says the state left the decision up to local leaders to make.

“We’ve certainly provided guidance that talks about the importance of wearing masks,” says Vandeven. “But particularly, if you’re within six feet, we’ve certainly emphasized the importance of that. But those are local decisions.”

“With all due respect, should this be a local decision on masks?” asks Kendrick.

Missouri Health and Senior Services Department Director Randall Williams

“Well, I’ll ask you all that because this is Missouri and we’ve typically always prided ourselves in being a local control state. I would have to say that we see our role as providing the best guidance that we possibly can and trusting that our local authorities know the best for their communities to make those decisions,” says Vandeven.

A German study shows about 20% of COVID-19 patients surveyed have developed heart problems, including some middle-aged adults with mild cases of the virus. Long after recovering, some patients have reported persistent symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, coughing and headaches. Some athletes have chosen to sit out the season out of fear of developing such health complications.

Dr. Williams says science is showing that COVID-19 can target the kidneys, the lungs and heart.

“That’s one thing that just makes me so sensitive to this idea why ‘I’m 25 years old, I’ll just get COVID-19 and go on.’ I don’t believe that’s true. I believe the that sequela of that, whether it’s to your point, two months from now you still have difficulty breathing or muscle aches, or that you give it to someone else. I just think we don’t want anybody to get COVID-19 because I don’t think we know enough about it even at this juncture, eight months into it, to give any assurance to a young person that ‘you are just going to get it and get over it.’ I don’t know that we know that to be true,” says Williams.

MSBA’s Susan Goldammer

Due to the potential long-term health problems, Representative Matt Sain, D-Kansas City, suggested that school leaders shift to online learning until a vaccination is available and there’s more data about the disease.

Susan Goldammer with the Missouri School Boards’ Association testified before the committee. The group represents about 400 school districts around the state.

She says staffing during the pandemic is a prominent question schools are asking her organization about. She says some teachers are retiring early due to COVID-19. Missouri has had a persistent teacher shortage and could even have a shortage of substitute teachers and bus drivers this fall.

Major Missouri bills awaiting governor’s action

July 13, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Gov. Mike Parson has a matter of days left to take action on a number of bills passed during the Missouri Legislature’s regular session. Here is a list of some of the key measures awaiting a decision by the governor:

Gov. Parson signing budget bills (Photo courtesy of his Flickr account)

Partial motorcycle helmet law repeal and Hyperloop
House Bill 1963 is a sweeping transportation bill that would include a partial repeal of the state’s motorcycle helmet law. Motorcycle drivers 26 years and older could go helmetless if they have their own health insurance. Under the plan sponsored by Representative Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, motorcycle passengers would still be required to wear a helmet. The measure would also let a state commission create a public-private partnership to build a Hyperloop tube travel system in Missouri, but would ban the use of eminent domain to build one.

Medical marijuana
Lawmakers passed changes to the state’s new medical marijuana industry. The FBI informed the state health department, which regulates the industry, that DHSS will not have access to its national fingerprint background check database. Representative Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, says his legislation would clear up that problem. Under House Bill 1896, the agency could also require fingerprints from medical marijuana business employees as part of the licensing or certification process. The measure would require department employees associated with licensing medical marijuana businesses to submit their fingerprints for criminal background checks. The bill would also ban medical marijuana edibles designed in the shape of a human, animal, or fruit, including realistic, artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings. However, geometric shapes, including, but not limited to, circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles, are allowed.

Rape kit testing efforts
Sen. Andrew Koenig’s legislation would require Missouri hospitals to perform a forensic exam using an evidence kit upon the request and consent of a sexual assault victim. Senate Bill 569 would give hospitals access to virtual and in-person training on how to use the kits. It would also require the state to create a centralized place to store unreported rape kits and require those kits to be stored for at least five years.

Missouri has about 6,800 untested rape kits. State Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office has shipped about 1,000 of those to a lab for testing and is working to get all of them tested.

Electronic monitoring within patient rooms of long-term healthcare centers
Under House Bill 1387, residents of long-term care centers in Missouri would be allowed to have authorized electronic monitoring devices within their rooms. Facilities and any residents with such monitoring must post a visible sign indicating that rooms, including the room of the resident, are being monitored. The gadget must be owned and operated by the resident or the resident’s legal guardian. Representative Jim Murphy, R-St. Louis, is the bill sponsor.

No state taxes on federal stimulus payment
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville wants to prevent Missourians from being taxed by the state for their federal coronavirus stimulus payment. He says the money was already free of federal taxes, but was subject to state income taxes. Senate Bill 676 would also require county assessors to do a physical inspection of real estate prior to increasing a property’s assessment more than 15%.

Other bills already signed by the governor include:

Tort Reform
Senate Bill 591 puts new limits on punitive damages in liability lawsuits. The legislation allows juries to award punitive damages only when plaintiffs prove by clear and convincing evidence that defendants “intentionally harmed” someone without just cause or acted with “deliberate and flagrant disregard for the safety of others.” Sen. Bill White, R-Joplin, sponsored the Republican and business-friendly bill.

Crime megabill
Gov. Parson has signed into law sweeping changes aimed at cracking down on violent crime. Senate Bill 600 creates mandatory prison sentences for several violent crimes, and creates a new offense of vehicle hijacking. Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer’s bill defines street gangs and specifies that gang members could face a felony for being part of a gang.

Mail-in voting during pandemic
Current state law allows voters to mail in their election ballots for reasons like illness or travel. Under Senate Bill 631, sponsored by Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, voters can say they are ill if they are 65 or older, live in a nursing or assisted home or have certain health conditions, including heart problems, asthma, or chronic lung disease.

Voters who cannot use one of the excuses can still mail in their ballot, but they are required to get their ballot notarized. The approach – to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus – would only be allowed during this year’s August and November statewide elections.

Missouri Legislature adopts medical marijuana changes

May 18, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

The Missouri Legislature has passed changes to the state’s new medical marijuana industry. The FBI informed the state health department, which licenses and regulates the medical marijuana industry, that the department will not have access to its national fingerprint background check database. Representative Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, says his legislation would clear up that problem.

Missouri Legislature adopts medical marijuana changes

“Because the department is not a law enforcement agency, the Bureau declines to share that information with them without legislative authority. This bill provides that authority,” says Roberts.

The bill would require Department of Health and Senior Services employees associated with licensing medical marijuana businesses to submit their fingerprints for criminal background checks. Representative Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, says the department could also require fingerprints from medical marijuana business employees as part of the licensing or certification process.

“So what we need to do here is pass this piece of legislation so that we can get the correct background checks done to keep our industry that we have now clean, so that we can not only hire the correct employees, but to make sure that we have the correct employees handling this product,” says Hicks.

The bill, which is headed to the governor, would also ban medical marijuana edibles designed in the shape of a human, animal, or fruit, including realistic, artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings. However, geometric shapes, including, but not limited to, circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles, shall be permitted.

Later this year, Missouri patients could start buying medical marijuana products.

The legislation is House Bill 1896.

Key bills passed by the Missouri Legislature this coronavirus shortened session

May 16, 2020 By Alisa Nelson

Another Missouri legislative session is in the books and it was like no other. Two things that stick out – lawmakers participated in the second regular session of the 100th General Assembly and they did their work while a global pandemic came knocking on Missouri’s door.

Lawmakers took an unexpected break for about four weeks during the height of the state’s coronavirus outbreak – making the chances of getting their priorities passed a steeper hill to climb this year. Since returning, much of the focus has been on passing a state budget for the fiscal year beginning in July.

The Missouri House’s paper toss tradition on the last day of the session (Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel, House Communications)

Here is a look at some of the top bills that made it across the finish line this session and await the wave of Gov. Mike Parson’s mighty pen to either sign or veto them.

Fiscal Year 2021 State Operating Budget
The $35.2 billion state budget banks on billions of dollars in federal funding making its way to Missouri’s bank account. If Washington’s help falls short, the state will have to shift cash around to balance the budget. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, anticipates lawmakers to get called back in later this year to make some tweaks to the state’s financials.

Some of the highlights of the budget bills include:
*Slashing 134 unfilled state worker positions
*No state worker pay increase
*$3.5 billion in base funding for Missouri’s K-12 public schools (no increase)
*$95 million for school bus funding – a $13 million reduction over the current year
*$146 million to Missouri community colleges
*$41 million for the A+ college scholarship program (no increase)
*$66 million for the Access Missouri college scholarship program (no increase)
*$10 million for a future research complex in Columbia that could find cures like cancer
*$35 million to rural hospitals battling the coronavirus
*$30 million in potential federal money to small businesses
*$20 million of possible federal funding for meat processing plants to protect workers from the coronavirus
*$8 million for Amtrak services – a $1.1 million reduction over the current year
*$50 million into a transportation cost share program that matches up to 50% of the construction contract costs for selected public and private projects.
*$42 million for reimbursements to Missouri counties for jailing and transporting inmates who eventually go to state prison. Another $8 million would help to pay for the debt owed to counties for such unpaid bills.

Partial motorcycle helmet law repeal and Hyperloop
House Bill 1963 is a sweeping transportation bill that would include a partial repeal of the state’s motorcycle helmet law. Motorcycle drivers 26 years and older could go helmetless if they have their own health insurance. Under the plan sponsored by Representative Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, motorcycle passengers would still be required to wear a helmet. The measure would also let a state commission create a public-private partnership to build a Hyperloop tube travel system in Missouri, but would ban the use of eminent domain to build one.

Taking a bite out of crime
State lawmakers have adopted a crime bill. Features of Senate Bill 600 include creating a vehicle hijacking felony offense, defining street gangs and specifying that gang members could face a felony for being part of a gang. Under Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer’s bill, criminals found guilty of armed criminal action would also face much stiffer prison sentences, depending on how many times they’ve committed the crime.

No state taxes on federal stimulus payment
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville wants to prevent Missourians from being taxed by the state for their federal coronavirus stimulus payment. He says the money was already free of federal taxes, but was subject to state income taxes. Senate Bill 676 would also require county assessors to do a physical inspection of real estate prior to increasing a property’s assessment more than 15%.

Effort to allow mail-in voting during pandemic
Current state law allows voters to mail in their election ballots for reasons like illness or travel. Under Senate Bill 631, sponsored by Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, voters can say they are ill if they are 65 or older, live in a nursing home or have certain health conditions, including heart problems, asthma, or chronic lung disease.

Voters who can’t use one of the excuses can still mail in their ballot, but they are required to get their ballot notarized. The approach – to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus – would only be allowed during this year’s August and November statewide elections.

Legislative redistricting
Missouri voters will get to decide in November if they should change a legislative redistricting process they passed in 2018. Senate Joint Resolution 38, sponsored by Sen. Dan Hegeman, R-Cosby, would let a bipartisan commission redraw districts, instead of Clean Missouri’s process of using a nonpartisan demographer. It would also ban lobbyist gifts, instead of Clean Missouri’s $5 limit, and put a $2,000 cap on Senate candidate political donations, instead of the current $2,500.

Medical marijuana
Lawmakers passed changes to the state’s new medical marijuana industry. The FBI informed the state health department, which regulates the industry, that DHSS will not have access to its national fingerprint background check database. Representative Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, says his legislation would clear up that problem. Under House Bill 1896, the agency could also require fingerprints from medical marijuana business employees as part of the licensing or certification process. The measure would require department employees associated with licensing medical marijuana businesses to submit their fingerprints for criminal background checks. The bill would also ban medical marijuana edibles designed in the shape of a human, animal, or fruit, including realistic, artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings. However, geometric shapes, including, but not limited to, circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles, shall be permitted.

Tort Reform
The Missouri Legislature has passed new limits on punitive damages in liability lawsuits. The legislation, Senate Bill 591, would allow juries to award punitive damages only when plaintiffs prove by clear and convincing evidence that defendants “intentionally harmed” someone without just cause or acted with “deliberate and flagrant disregard for the safety of others.” Sen. Bill White, R-Joplin, sponsored the Republican and business-friendly bill.

Rape kit testing efforts
Sen. Andrew Koenig’s legislation would require Missouri hospitals to perform a forensic exam using an evidence kit upon the request and consent of a sexual assault victim. Senate Bill 569 would give hospitals access to virtual and in-person training on how to use the kits. It would also require the state to create a centralized place to store unreported rape kits and require those kits to be stored for at least five years.

Some of the key bills that died this session involve:
*Collecting sales taxes from e-commerce companies that do not have a physical presence in Missouri
*Creating a statewide prescription drug monitoring program
*Legalizing sports betting
*Putting restrictions on slot machines popping up in bars, restaurants and gas stations
*Expanding charter schools statewide

During the final day of the session, several lawmakers spent time giving their heartfelt wishes to their departing colleagues. Term limits will force some of the elected officials out of office after this year.