State Rep. Ian Mackey Archives

St. Louis Police residency requirement legislation heading to Missouri House floor

August 17, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that eliminates the residency requirement for St. Louis Police officers has been approved by the Missouri House Judiciary Committee. Monday afternoon’s vote was 12-4.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, testifies before the Missouri House Judiciary Committee on August 17, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The bill is a key part of Governor Mike Parson’s special session call on violent crime.

State Rep. Ron Hicks, R-Dardenne Prairie, the bill sponsor, presented his bill and testified before the committee on Monday. Hicks tells State Rep. Justin Hill, R-Lake St. Louis, that improving public safety in St. Louis will help the entire state.

“This is a statewide thing,” Hicks testifies.

“St. Louis is our economic hub, and we have a crime problem,” Hill tells Hicks. “And we’ve identified that policemen that are being forced to live in there are making decisions to move out so that their families can feel safer.”

House Bill 46 was amended during the hearing. It now also eliminates the residency requirements for St. Louis firefighters and EMS personnel, and has a three-year sunset clause.

St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden traveled to Jefferson City to testify for the Hicks bill, saying his department is more than 100 officers short. Chief Hayden tells state lawmakers that St. Louis has had 169 homicides this year, compared to 125 at this time last year.

“As of today, (the) St. Louis Police Department is down 143 officers from its authorized strength. We continue to be challenged by meeting the demands of this ongoing gun violence, continuous demonstrations. Our officers have had to endure 12-hour shifts,” Hayden says.

Chief Hayden says there were 53 St. Louis homicides in July, and 16 so far in August.

He also says six St. Louis police officers have been shot in the past few months, and that retired Police Captain Dorn was shot and killed.

Advocacy group “Empower Missouri” testified against the bill. Former State Rep. Jeanette Mott Oxford, D-St. Louis, is the organization’s policy director. She says when officers live in communities and know their neighbors, they can create partnerships and strategies for reducing crime and unhealthy living conditions.

Mott Oxford testifies that Empower Missouri would rather see more investment in St. Louis schools.

“And the solution is for us to invest in communities, so that we all have safe communities and good schools,” says Mott Oxford.

Oxford also notes St. Louis residents will be casting ballots in November, on residency requirements. She says Missouri lawmakers should recognize the right of St. Louis City to govern itself.

Chief Hayden has testified that the residency requirement is the greatest challenge that his department has with recruitment and retention.

The four no votes were from Democrats: State Reps. Gina Mitten, D-Richmond Heights, Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, and Robert Sauls, D-Independence.

The Judiciary Committee also unanimously approved two other crime bills on Monday.

The committee voted 17-0 for witness protection legislation from State Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee’s Summit. It would create a pretrial witness protection services fund, to be administered by the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) to law enforcement agencies. The money would be used to provide security to witnesses, potential witnesses and their immediate families in criminal proceedings or investigations.

The Judiciary Committee also voted 17-0 to approve legislation from State Rep. Barry Hovis, R-Cape Girardeau, that increases penalties for witness and victim tampering.

Missouri lawmakers describe nurses working in pandemic as superheroes (AUDIO)

April 14, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The Missouri Legislature’s bipartisan St. Louis delegation has started a campaign to buy each St. Louis area nurse a gift card to a local restaurant, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, waits for her turn to vote on a $6.2 billion supplemental budget on April 8, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, a delegation co-secretary, says the aim is to provide each nurse with a $50 gift card.

“The nurses on the front lines of coronavirus are our true superheroes,” Coleman says. “And we love our local restaurants and want them to survive the crisis too, and this is an effort to combine both.”

Coleman says there are about 5,600 nurses in active service in the St. Louis region. The St. Louis-area delegation’s fundraising goal is $280,000.

“Working with Mercy and BJC, with St. Luke’s and the SSM System, and so doing everything that we can to try to make sure that those who are on the front lines are able to receive the service,” says Coleman.

Coleman says 100 percent of donations will be used for gift cards, adding that lawmakers’ campaigns in both parties will handle administrative expenses.

She emphasizes that this is a bipartisan effort. State Reps. Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, and Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, are also leading the effort.

“As we all work to provide support for our neighbors during this difficult time, we’ve decided as friends and colleagues to join together and support those risking their lives, and the health of their families, to keep the rest of us safe,” Representative Mackey says.

Anyone interested in donating can contact Rep. Coleman at (573) 751-3751 or Rep. Mackey at (573) 751-0100. Rep. McCreery’s Capitol office number is (573) 751-7535.

State health officials announced Monday afternoon that there are now 4,388 confirmed coronavirus cases in Missouri, along with 114 deaths.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with State Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, which was recorded on April 7, 2020:

Missouri House committee to hear testimony on school seclusion rooms (AUDIO)

January 14, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Legislation that would prohibit Missouri school districts from using seclusion rooms for anything other than the health and safety of students and teachers will go before the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee in Jefferson City Tuesday morning.

State Reps. Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka, and Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, brief Capitol reporters on January 13, 2020 in Jefferson City (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

State Reps. Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka, Ian Mackey, D-St. Louis, and Education Committee Chairman Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, held a Statehouse press conference on Monday, to outline their bipartisan efforts.

Representative Mackey, a former teacher, tells Capitol reporters that numerous school districts don’t follow their own policies on this issue.

“What I have seen over the last year has been nothing short of appalling,” Mackey says. “Tiny, empty closets built and designed solely for the purpose of isolating small children.”

Mackey and Bailey have filed identical bills, which would limit restraints and seclusion to instances of immediate physical and safety threats. Their legislation would also require school districts to report all occurrences of restraint and seclusion to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Representative Bailey, who’s the committee’s vice chair, and Representative Mackey released photos of restraint rooms to the Capitol Press Corps on Monday.

Columbia parent Shawan Daniels briefs Capitol reporters, as State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, points to photos of Missouri seclusion rooms on January 13, 2020 (photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communicatons)

“I mean, this picture speaks for itself. Not a place where compassion and learning can occur, so you see why kiddos get traumatized and they don’t want to go in there anymore,” says Bailey.

Bailey and Mackey say the photos they showed to Capitol reporters are from the Francis Howell School District in St. Charles County, and from Columbia Public Schools (CPS). They say there was an incident at Francis Howell two years ago, and that Francis Howell has changed their policy.

As for CPS, the district spokeswoman there says the Columbia photos shown at the press conference were misleading. CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark tells KMIZ-TV that the photos were taken during construction of the Columbia Center for Responsive Education.

Meantime, school superintendents, teachers and parents are expected to travel to the Missouri Capitol on Tuesday morning to testify about the Bailey-Mackey legislation. The hearing begins at 8 a.m.

Education Committee chair Basye tells Missourinet that his committee approved the bill unanimously in 2019.

“I think it will pass the (House) Education Committee and now what happens going forward, we’ll have to wait and see,” Basye says.

Bill supporters include Missouri Disability Empowerment, which notes some of the children being restrained and placed in seclusion rooms have disabilities.

Supporters also note that the Illinois governor issued an emergency rule before Christmas, which banned all seclusion in Illinois schools.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s interview with Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Chairman Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, which was recorded on January 13, 2020 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City: