Tom Dempsey Archives - Missourinet

Robot deliveries could be coming to a Missouri neighborhood near you

February 9, 2021 By Alisa Nelson

Missouri could allow robots to deliver goods to your home. A bill sponsored by state Senator Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, aims to let robots cruise mainly along sidewalks and crosswalks to deliver items around the state. During a state Senate Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Safety Committee hearing today, Hough says the effort is a work in progress.

Missouri Capitol

Under the bill, the robots could not block public rights of way, must obey traffic and pedestrian control signals, operate 10 miles per hour or less on a sidewalk, and must be equipped to come to a controlled stop.

Tom Dempsey, a lobbyist for Amazon and a former Missouri Senate President, says the e-commerce retailer supports the legislation. He says Amazon’s delivery gadget, called Scout, is a “last mile device”.

“Amazon launched a fully electric autonomous delivery system that operates in pedestrian areas like sidewalks and crosswalks. Our device is the size of a small cooler that you would bring to a beach and operates at about the same speed as the average person walks,” says Dempsey. “Scout is 100% electric and is helping Amazon drive towards our goal of making all Amazon shipments net zero carbon with 50% of all shipments net zero carbon by 2030.”

Dempsey provided previous written testimony from Jeff Cleland, who leads state and local transportation policy at Amazon. Scout was launched in January 2019. Cleland says Scout is readily visible to others and is able to stop, or safely navigate around pedestrians, pets, and obstacles. To date, more than 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed personal delivery device legislation.

Henrio Thelemaque, with FedEx, says the company supports the measure. It has a personal delivery device called Roxo.

“As we’ve all seen with COVID-19, if you are not participating in e-commerce, you potentially are going to struggle in the business of retail or any other business. The goal is to work with these smaller retailers and larger retailers to find ways for them to participate in the new market,” he says.

The devices would be exempt from motor vehicle registration requirements and must maintain a general liability insurance policy of at least $100,000. If they are operated at night, the robots would be required to be equipped with lighting. They cannot be used to transport hazardous materials.

Shannon Cooper, lobbying on behalf of the city of Kansas City, says the city does not oppose the bill but hopes some scenarios will be taken into consideration when crafting the bill. Cooper is a former state Representative from Clinton.

“Obviously our concern would be some unintended accidents with these machines, or batteries dying and setting around on the street corners like we see with these crazy scooters everywhere. The sponsor has indicated he’ll be happy to work with us,” says Cooper. “We just want to make sure at the end of the day, the city and our residents are protected from these machines and there’s enough liability coverage if there is a horrible accident.”

The committee has not voted yet on the plan. To view Senate Bill 176, click here.

Criminal code rewrite drafters respond to Gov. Nixon’s size concerns

March 31, 2014 By Mike Lear

Lawmakers that have been working on the rewrite of Missouri’s criminal code for years say this is still the year to get it passed, despite the reservations expressed by Governor Jay Nixon (D) about its size.

Senator Jolie Justus (courtesy; Missouri Senate Communications)

Nixon has suggested that the rewrite – currently more than 1,000 pages in length in the House version and down to about 700 pages in a Senate version revamped during the legislative spring break – be broken into sections and passed rather than one bill. The Governor is reportedly concerned that in a bill that size, mistakes could be made.

Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles) has said he will not bring up the bill in that chamber until all parties decide how to proceed.

Senator Jolie Justus (D-Kansas City) says it’s frustrating for the Governor to raise this concern now.

“We’re always frustrated when we hear about any problem with a bill this late in,” says Justus. “I think that we have said for the last three years now that the biggest issue with this bill is its size. We are continuing to work with our fellow colleagues, we are continuing to have conversations with the Governor’s office about the nature of the bill, what’s in it, what’s not in it, and how we can get to a path to getting it passed because this is the year to get it done and we intend to do that.”

Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) says separating the issue out into several smaller bills would kill the proposal.

Representative Stanley Cox (courtesy; Missouri House Communications)

“There is no practical way of breaking it into sections,” says Cox. “It was essentially a five-year process … and three years actually it’s been filed in the Missouri General Assembly … and it was never designed to be broken into several pieces.”

Justus, however, doesn’t rule out taking the Governor’s suggestion.

“That is going to be a difficult row, but I never say, ‘never,’ on anything. We are looking at all options.”

The legislature could pass the rewrite legislation and if the Governor vetoes it, attempt to override the veto, but Cox doesn’t believe it would play out that way.

“It’s pretty hard to believe the Governor would veto legislation that not only has previously been vetted to such a high degree but also has built-in safety nets all over the place,” says Cox.

Senator Bob Dixon (courtesy; Missouri Senate Communications)

The “safety nets” Cox refers to include the effective date of the legislation, which lawmakers plan to push back to January 1, 2017. The Missouri Supreme Court’s Standing Committee on Criminal Procedure will review the bill after passage.

Cox notes Governor Nixon will also have time for the lawyers that work for him to review the bill after its passage.

“He’s got what I would consider a rather large law firm,” says Cox. “That’s what lawyers are paid to do, is look through complicated things and say if they’re good or bad, and the Governor is better capable of doing that than almost anybody I know.”

“I think we’ve addressed every concern that’s been raised substantively,” says Senator Bob Dixon (R-Springfield).

“What we are doing is saying that we are standing here ready, willing and able to negotiate, talk, do whatever we need to move this idea forward,” says Justus. “The time has come. In order for us to have an effective, responsible, safe criminal justice system, we need to get this done.”

“It’s great to accomodate the Governor if we can,” says Cox, “but my inclination is to take the code – what we have vetted in both legislative bodies – and try to pass it and deal with it that way.”

Another state lawmaker who has spent a great deal of time and effort on the criminal code is Representative Chris Kelly (D-Columbia), who offered an open letter to fellow legislators about the Governor’s position. See the story on that letter for what he had to say.

SPECIAL SESSION: Boeing incentive bill goes to Governor Nixon

December 6, 2013 By Mike Lear

The state legislature has sent Governor Jay Nixon everything he wants in an incentive package to try to get Boeing to build its 777X airliner.

Legislators discuss how to deal with a clerical error regarding the Boeing incentive bill. (Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

At least, that’s what House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) believes.

“It’s my understanding that Governor Nixon agrees that everything that he requested was placed into the Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 1 that we have now truly agreed and finally passed to his desk.”

Jones has signed that bill and says Senate Leader Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles) will be doing the same today. A staffer with Governor Nixon’s Office says it will review the bill as it would any other before offering comment or taking action.

“The ball is put back in his court to put Missouri’s best foot forward,” Jones says of Nixon.

The legislation extends for Boeing limits on four economic development programs, translating to an offer of up to 1.7-billion in tax incentives. Nixon hopes that, combined with local incentives and agreements by Union leaders and community colleges in the state, will get Boeing to create as many as 8,000 jobs in Missouri.

Missouri and at least 12 other states must submit offers to Boeing by Tuesday. Jones thinks Boeing will not make selections until some time in January.

While the House discussed that bill today, it was learned that part of an amendment offered by Senator Brad Lager (R-Savannah) was omitted in the copy it received from the Senate due to an error by Senate staff.

Majority Floor Leader John Diehl (R-Town and Country) explained to legislators how leadership intended to fix the problem in a way that it thought was transparent, starting with distributing to the representatives a copy that matched what was in the chamber’s journal.

“The journals are all correct … we’re going to ask the members to vote on a resolution acknowledging that everybody here understands that this is what we’re going to be voting on and third read in a few minutes.”

The fix was endorsed by Representative Jeff Roorda (D-Barnhart), who on the House floor told Diehl, “I think the record is clear that there is probably nobody in the room that is more likely to call you if you’ve got it wrong on procedural stuff (than me). I’m not here to do that today.”

Diehl says such problems are not uncommon, but leadership felt the resolution was necessary since lawmakers were dealing with only one bill in the special session, creating greater scrutiny on that one measure.

He says the Governor’s staff was involved in the discussion of that error and was comfortable with the fix.

A legislative staffer says there is also legal precedent establishing that an error by legislative staff can not impact the passage of legislation.

Senate leader releases draft of new gun legislation

November 1, 2013 By Mike Lear

The legislature failed to override Governor Jay Nixon’s veto of a controversial gun bill. Now Senate Republican leaders who helped uphold that veto have made good on a promise to offer an alternative.

Senator Ron Richard

Senate Majority Floor Leader Ron Richard (R-Joplin) has unveiled a draft of a bill that seeks to void in Missouri federal laws that “infringe on the people’s right to keep and bear arms.” The primary differences between it and its predecessor, HB 436, are that it would not make it a crime to enforce certain federal gun laws in Missouri, or to publish the names of gun owners.

Richard says, “The intent of the bill is exactly the same. We’re just trying to make it constitutional so we can get past a court challenge.”

Richard wants the bill to be a bill to reaffirm the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in Missouri, and to give Missouri authority over the federal government when it comes to gun laws. He says he is making good on a promise to release draft language at least a month before pre-filing begins to allow people to provide feedback and suggest changes.

“We’ve tried to make it firmer on the Tenth Amendment, the overriding premise being that the federal government is usurping state’s rights.”

Richard says law enforcement expressed concerns to him that the draft’s predecessor interfered with their ability to perform their job.

“We felt, and public safety officials felt, that local authorities weren’t able (under that bill) to cooperate with federal authorities on the bad guys when it had to do with guns, and we got language (for this new draft) from the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association that helps that.”

The bill would require a local sheriff be notified before a federal warrant can be served in his jurisdiction. That requirement could be waived in cases of national security or when a sheriff is believed to have violated confidentiality in the issuance of warrants.

The bill does not specify what federal laws it would invalidate in Missouri. Rather, it says it would apply to certain taxes, registration and tracking requirements, prohibitions on the possession, ownership, use or transfer of a specific type of firearm and confiscation orders.

It would allow for the creation of school protection officers; teachers or administrators designated by a district that would be authorized to carry a concealed firearm. It lays out how such a designation can be made and how training for such officers should be developed.

The sponsor of HB 436, Representative Doug Funderburk (R-St. Peters) says the idea of barring the publishing of gun owners’ names has not been abandoned.

“The issue of publishing lists or publishing names is one we’re going to have to work on separately and try to figure out what is the right balance … the language that protects the publishing of overall lists but doesn’t limit anyone’s right, not just the media, but anyone’s right to the First Amendment. That’s still a work in progress.”

Funderburk says he thinks this bill keeps the most important provisions and underlying goals of his bill, and he wants to hear feedback.

He tells Missourinet, “I would like to hear back from the very same persons and people who were critical of the first bill.”

Richard says Senator Brian Nieves (R-Washington) will handle the bill and he has promised Nieves it will be the first one out of the gate.

“(Senate President Tom) Dempsey and I gave a commitment … it’ll be the first bill to committee and when I get the bill as Majority Leader it’ll be the first bill we handle in the Senate and we’ll spend time on it and get it to the House as quickly as we can, because if the Governor vetoes it again, we’ll be working toward overriding the veto during session.”

See the full language of the draft legislation here, and see a summary here.

House and Senate majority leaders: no budging on Medicaid expansion (VIDEO)

March 15, 2013 By Mike Lear

The leaders of the Republican majorities in the legislature say they will hold their positions on Medicaid expansion when the session resumes in ten days. Republicans in both chambers have voted down several attempts to accept more than $800 million dollars to expand Medicaid eligibility in the state.

House Speaker Tim Jones (at the mic) and Senate President Pro-Tem Tom Dempsey held a joint media conference after both chambers adjourned Thursday for Spring Break. (Photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles) says what his party wants is the flexibility to reform Medicaid.

“We do not believe it’s prudent to double down on a broken system. Just a couple of weeks ago we recieved notice from one of our bond rating agencies that we were being rated negatively because of our coupling with the federal government, and so to become even more reliant on the federal government would send Missouri down the wrong path.”

House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) says he wants to be sure the state has the money to pay for its other needs rather than pumping money into what he considers a “broken” Medicaid system.

“I personally do not view healthcare as a right. I think it is something that the state should take upon as an obligation if they’re able to do so, and the emphasis has to be on providing healthcare to the disabled, to children and to seniors, not to able-bodied adults.”

Both leaders say Medicaid reform has to be a part of the discussion. Governor Jay Nixon on Thursday tweeted that he hopes Senate Republicans are serious about Medicaid reform.

Assistant Minority Leader Gail McCann Beatty (D-Kansas City) says her caucus is frustrated that Medicaid expansion continues to be rejected by Republican leadership.

“As we have said before, that creates 24,000 jobs, we’re looking at $8.2 billion in federal investment in the state, $9.6 billion in additional economy activity and as many as 300,000 more Missourians to have access to care.”

Jones says Governor Nixon has not offered a plan to pay for Medicaid if the federal government fails to cover its portion.

The legislature is on Spring Break until March 25.

Watch the post-session media conferences with Jones and Dempsey (top) and McCann Beatty (bottom) below, courtesy of Jonathan Lorenz, Missouri House Communications: