Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden Archives

Bipartisan Missouri House resolution describes NCAA’s sanctions against Mizzou as appalling (AUDIO)

January 23, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

A resolution condemning the NCAA for its sanctions against the University of Missouri has been filed by the top Democrat on the Missouri House Higher Education Committee.

State Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on April 11, 2019 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, tells Missourinet the university did everything right.

“There was a tutor helping student-athletes. The tutor cheated for them,” Razer says. “The University found out, fired the tutor, suspended the students and then notified the NCAA.”

Razer’s resolution notes the NCAA says Mizzou provided “exemplary cooperation” in the case. Razer is upset with the NCAA for upholding sanctions against Mizzou’s football, baseball and softball teams, including a one-year postseason ban for the programs.

The resolution urges Mizzou and the Southeastern Conference to lead in reforming the NCAA, to ensure fairness and integrity. Representative Razer says student-athletes and member institutions must be served equally and fairly.

“And so what my resolution does would express the will of the General Assembly to the university, the (MU) athletic department, the Southeastern Conference, that they take the lead in reforming this part of the NCAA,” says Razer.

Razer notes the athletes being punished with sanctions were not involved in the infractions.

Razer, who graduated from Mizzou, also says the sanctions have created a chilling effect on member institutions which self-report violations. He describes the NCAA’s decision as “appalling.”

“And if it’s not reformable, then maybe it’s time we look at forming a new intercollegiate athletic association that we can trust,” Razer says.

A Missouri House committee hearing for Razer’s resolution has not been scheduled yet.

The measure is House Concurrent Resolution 73.

His effort has bipartisan support. State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, tells Missourinet he wants to co-sponsor Razer’s resolution. Basye’s district includes a portion of Columbia.

And Missouri Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, has also criticized the NCAA, describing the organization as a “fraud.”

Click here to listen to the interview between news director Brian Hauswirth and State Reps. Greg Razer, D-Kansas City, and Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, which aired live on Missourinet on January 15, 2020:

Winter weather advisory impacting much of Missouri, including Legislature

January 22, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much of Missouri.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much of Missouri (January 22, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter)

Wednesday and Wednesday night’s heaviest snowfall will be across northern Missouri, with towns like Maryville, Bethany and Trenton expected to receive three to four inches.

Reporter Jeremy Shields at Missourinet Cameron affiliate KMRN reports there has been snow, blowing snow and sleet in northwest Missouri this morning.

Reporter Tom Tingerthal at Missourinet Chillicothe affiliate KCHI reports there is already about an inch-and-a-half of snow on the ground there, as of this afternoon. Tingerthal also notes many school districts across northwest Missouri have not been in session this week. Classes are expected to be canceled on Thursday as well, due to the winter storm.

Towns located near and along the I-70 corridor should see one to three inches of snow. They include Kansas City, Clinton, Sedalia and Columbia.

The NWS warns hazardous driving conditions will continue into this evening, and that untreated and rural roads will be very slick.

The NWS is urging you to slow down, and to give yourself extra time on the road.

The snow is also impacting legislative work at the Missouri Capitol.

The Missouri Senate has adjourned until next week. Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, tweeted today, urging lawmakers and residents to stay safe as they travel to every corner in the state.

The House will also not be in session on Thursday. Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, tells Missourinet they will have a technical session, which simply requires one member to gavel-in and out.

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: