State Sen. Holly Rehder Archives

Rehder’s bipartisan needle exchange legislation heads to Missouri House committee

April 13, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

Bipartisan legislation creating a hypodermic needle exchange program will be heard by a Missouri House committee Tuesday afternoon in Jefferson City.

State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City) speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on March 9, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City), who has sponsored the bill for several years, will testify before the Missouri House Emerging Issues Committee. Her two-page Senate Bill 64 has already received final approval from the Missouri Senate.

Senator Rehder tells Missourinet that the needle exchange program would help prevent the spread of HIV and hepatitis. She has said that if addicts have access to clean needles, it would reduce the transmission of those diseases.

Under her bill, any entity that’s registered with the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) that operates a syringe exchange program would be exempt from the offense of distribution or sale of drug paraphernalia, as long as the entity is not located within 500 feet of a school building.

Groups like St. Louis-based non-profit Criminal Justice Ministry have testified for the bill in previous years. They say it could save the state money in the long run.

What we’re watching this week in Missouri Legislature: Medicaid expansion, budget, PDMP and proposal to reduce Missouri House’s size

March 29, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The state operating budget and prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation will likely take center stage in the Missouri Legislature in Jefferson City this week.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, testifies before a House committee in Jefferson City on February 24, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Governor Mike Parson (R) has proposed a $34.1 billion state operating budget. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) tells Missourinet that he hopes to see the House give initial and final approval to the operating budget this week. The state Constitution requires Missouri lawmakers to approve a balanced budget, by early May.

Once the budget goes to the House floor this week, there will likely be a floor debate on the issue of Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid is formally known as MO HealthNet, and it’s a federal and state program that assists with medical costs for residents with limited incomes. 53 percent of Missouri voters approved Medicaid expansion in August, although it failed in 105 of the state’s 114 counties. Amendment Two expands Medicaid for residents between the ages of 19 and 64 with an income level at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level.

Last week the House Budget Committee voted against funding Medicaid expansion. Chairman Smith issued a statement, which says the expansion would help able bodied adults, many who choose not to work. He’s filed a bill to use that money to support seniors in nursing homes, to provide care for the developmentally disabled and to expand mental health programs. Smith also wants to use some of the money for additional public defenders.

During his January State of the State Address, Governor Parson pledged to move forward with implementation of Medicaid expansion, because voters approved it.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) and other House Democrats have called a Statehouse news conference for Monday afternoon at 1 to address the issue. Leader Quade and House Democrats say Missouri voters have spoken. She describes the Budget Committee’s decision as an irresponsible attempt by House Republicans to defund Missouri’s Medicaid program.

State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City) speaks on the Missouri Senate floor in Jefferson City on March 9, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

Across the Capitol Rotunda in the Missouri Senate, PDMP should hit the Senate floor this week. State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City) has filed PDMP for the ninth straight year. Rehder filed it for the eight years she served in the House. She was elected to the Missouri Senate in November, and has filed Senate Bill 63.

Senator Rehder delivered a passionate speech on the Missouri House floor in May, revealing to colleagues that her late mother and late sister were both sexually assaulted multiple times and that they turned to prescription drugs for their pain.

“I look forward to having that (Senate floor debate) conversation, obviously this is something that (State) Senator Rehder is very passionate about. When she was in the House, I carried that legislation myself (and) tried to find a resolution for that,” Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) told Missourinet last week.

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

Rehder and other supporters say Missouri’s medical professionals must have knowledge of what their patients are on, prior to prescribing more medication. Bill opponents such as State Sen. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) worry about potential data breaches involving your prescription information.

While both the Missouri House and Senate approved PDMP in 2020, they approved different versions of the bill.

Pro Tem Schatz says education reform bills will also likely be debated on the floor this week. He also expects some long nights between now and May.

“Not sure exactly the floor schedule, but would anticipate working longer hours from now till session ends,” Schatz tells Missourinet.

Another interesting issue that will be discussed in a Missouri House committee this week involves reducing the Missouri House’s size.

State Rep. Travis Fitzwater (R-Holts Summit) is proposing a constitutional amendment that would reduce the Missouri House from 163 to 136 members. Fitzwater will present his proposal Wednesday afternoon to the House Elections and Elected Officials Committee.

Fitzwater’s proposed House Joint Resolution 34 is similar to his 2019 proposal, which failed. Missouri currently has 197 lawmakers, although there is one House vacancy. Fitzwater says it’s the seventh-largest Legislature in the nation, and that Missouri has more state lawmakers than any of its bordering states.

Missourians ratified a constitutional amendment in 1966, which locked in the number of House seats at 163.

The Missouri House and Senate will both gavel-in Monday afternoon at 4 in Jefferson City.

What we’re watching this week in the Missouri Legislature: budget and preexisting condition legislation (AUDIO)

March 22, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

The state operating budget, a proposed supplemental budget and health-related bills will dominate attention in the second half of Missouri’s legislative session, including this week when lawmakers return to Jefferson City from spring break.

Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) testifies before a House committee in Jefferson City on February 24, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

The Missouri House Budget Committee has scheduled Monday and Tuesday hearings at the Statehouse. Governor Mike Parson (R) is recommending a proposed $34.1 billion state operating budget. House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith (R-Carthage) says the plan is for the House to give final approval to that budget, next week.

“If things go according to plan, the second week after we’re back (the week of March 29), we could be looking at perfecting and third-reading the budget and sending it over to the Senate. So, that’s our schedule and we’re on schedule so far and our intention is to try to get it done in time enough to send to the Senate and give them adequate time for their consideration,” Smith told Capitol reporters on March 11, as lawmakers were leaving for spring break.

The state Constitution requires Missouri lawmakers to approve a balanced budget, by early May. House Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres) tells Missourinet that it’s important to give the Budget Committee enough time to do their job, so that is a priority.

The Parson administration is also proposing a $1.67 billion supplemental budget. Much of that involves federal dollars.

Speaking of Leader Plocher, his proposed constitutional amendment involving preexisting conditions will go before a House committee in Jefferson City on Monday afternoon.

The Missouri House Health and Mental Health Policy Committee will hold a public hearing at noon Monday. If lawmakers approve his House Joint Resolution 50, you’ll be voting in 2022 on Plocher’s proposed constitutional amendment requiring health insurers to cover preexisting conditions. Plocher believes the U-S Supreme Court could overturn the Affordable Care Act.

He describes his proposal as principled and bipartisan. Plocher also notes that many Missourians have preexisting conditions.

“I think Missouri’s economy, Missouri’s families and the quality of life is better when we have affordable health insurance,” Plocher told Missourinet in February.

Agriculture is another issue that will get attention this week in the Missouri House. The Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee will hold a Tuesday morning hearing on legislation from State Rep. Allen Andrews (R-Grant City), involving foreign ownership of farmland.

House Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres) speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on May 13, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Representative Andrews is the House Majority Whip. His House Bill 1296 would prohibit citizens of a nation in which an American citizen cannot own real property from buying agricultural real property in Missouri.

Across the Rotunda in the Missouri Senate, President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan) is praising his Senate colleagues for approving Wayfair legislation and his proposed 12 cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase bills, before the spring break.

Schatz expects some education reform bills to be debated this week on the Senate floor, and is looking forward to a debate soon on prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) legislation.

Senate Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia) tells Missourinet that he expects PDMP to hit the Senate floor in the first couple of weeks, after lawmakers return from spring break. Schatz notes that he’s personally carried the PDMP bill several times.

He’s working with State Sen. Holly Rehder (R-Scott City), who’s filed the PDMP bill for the ninth straight year. A PDMP is an electronic database that collects data on controlled substance prescriptions within a state.

Rehder and other supporters say Missouri’s medical professionals must have knowledge of what their patients are on, prior to prescribing more medication. Bill opponents, including State Sen. Mike Moon (R-Ash Grove) worry about potential data breaches involving your prescription information.

While both the Missouri House and Senate approved PDMP in 2020, they approved different versions of the bill. Missouri is the only state in the nation without a PDMP.

Pro Tem Schatz is vowing to pass PDMP before he leaves office at the end of 2022. He notes it’s come close several times.

“You know, we made some changes. Obviously at the time, we were not able to get it across the finish line. But I think I’m as optimistic as ever that will occur before I leave the Missouri Senate, I think we’re going to see that,” says Schatz.

Rehder has described her current bill as a compromise bill, that had the support of the majority of Senate and House members in 2020.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz (R-Sullivan), which was recorded on March 19, 2021: