Capitol Briefing

Week of January 25, 2010

Senate Passes Resolution Rejecting Changes in Agricultural Land Values

Autism Insurance Bill Passed by Committee, Ready for Floor Debate

JEFFERSON CITY—The Missouri Senate passed its first measure of the session this week in the form of Senate Concurrent Resolution 35, which would reject the Missouri State Tax Commission’s recent decision to increase some of the values assigned to agricultural land in Missouri.

Senator Bill Stouffer (R-Napton) is sponsoring the resolution, which would ensure that the tax commission’s vote to increase land valuations on certain grades of farmland and decrease land valuations on others will not be enacted. The valuation changes would amount to an approximately 11.5 percent increase in taxes on farmland overall.

Now that SCR 35 has been approved by the Senate, it will move to the House for its consideration. By statute, the Legislature has 60 legislative days to reverse the commission’s decision, which was made last month, or the changes will take effect Jan. 1, 2011.

Watch a video clip of SCR 35 being debated on the floor.

Also this week, the autism insurance coverage measure, SB 618, was passed out of the Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee. It is now eligible to be taken up for debate by the full Senate.

Under SB 618, which is sponsored by Sen. Scott T. Rupp (R-Wentzville), health carriers that issue or renew health benefit plans on or after Aug. 28, 2010, would be required to provide coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. The bill would also prohibit health carriers from refusing to cover an individual or dependent solely because the individual is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB 586, sponsored by Sen. Matt Bartle (R-Lee’s Summit), which would strengthen regulations for sexually oriented businesses in Missouri, including prohibiting anyone from establishing a sexually oriented business within 1,000 feet of a pre-existing school, house of worship, state-licensed day care, public library, residence, or other sexually oriented business. The bill would also require such establishments to close between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. and prohibit the sale, use and consumption of alcohol on the premises. 

Committee hearings continued to dominate Senate activity this week as the chamber’s major ethics reform bill—an issue touted as one of the Legislature’s top priorities for the session—was presented in the Senate Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee. Senate Bill 577, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph), would create the position of an independent investigator within the Ethics Commission, bar certain contributions to incumbent officials during session and expand income reporting requirements to include legislative staff.

Listen to the Senate Minute’s report on ethics reform.

Also receiving a hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee was a bill that would ban texting while driving in Missouri—for all ages. A law passed last year prohibits drivers 21 years of age and younger from texting while driving. Senator Ryan McKenna (D-Crystal City), who also sponsored last year’s provision, is sponsoring this year’s SB 701. The measure would apply the text message ban universally so that all drivers, regardless of their age, are prohibited from texting while operating a motor vehicle.

Watch a video clip of Sen. McKenna testifying before the transportation committee.

Other hearings held this week included:

• Senate Bill 583, sponsored by Sen. Norma Champion (R-Springfield), was heard in the Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee. The measure would entitle consumers with long-term insurance policies and Medicare supplement policies to premium refunds, and restricts certain abusive sales practices with respect to Medicare products.
• Senate Bill 594, sponsored by Sen. Rita Heard Days (D-St. Louis), was heard in the Senate Health, Mental Health, Seniors and Families Committee. The bill would allow adopted individuals age 18 and over to obtain copies of their original birth certificates under certain circumstances.
• A quartet of bills relating to drug-testing of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and applicants also received hearings in the health committee this week. The bills are SB 602 (sponsored by Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau), SB 607 (sponsored by Sen. Stouffer), SB 615 (sponsored by Sen. Jack Goodman, R-Mount Vernon), and SB 725 (sponsored by Sen. Rupp). Watch a video clip of Sen. Stouffer discussing the issue. 
• Senate Concurrent Resolution 36, sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Glendale), urges Congress to pass a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution. The resolution was heard in the rules committee along with SCR 37, also sponsored by Sen. Schmitt, which urges the attorney general to investigate the constitutionality of the Nebraska Compromise to federal health care legislation.
• Senate Joint Resolution 23 was heard in the Senate General Laws Committee. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Luann Ridgeway (R-Smithville), would prohibit a political subdivision from receiving state funding if it provides health insurance to its employees through a public health insurance option plan—upon voter approval.
• Senate Bill 596, sponsored by Sen. Victor Callahan (D-Independence), was heard in the Senate Progress and Development Committee. The bill would allow the governing bodies of any Missouri city to designate Show-Me Small Business Districts within a city for no longer than 23 years. During the designation period, eligible small businesses within these areas could receive tax-favored status for a term not to exceed 15 years. Watch a video clip of Sen. Callahan testifying before the committee.
• Senate Joint Resolution 25, sponsored by Sen. Jane Cunningham (R-Chesterfield), was heard in the Senate Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee. Upon approval by voters, the resolution would prohibit any laws from interfering with Missourians’ health care choices.
• Also heard in the same committee was SJR 29, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Purgason (R-Caulfield) and Sen. Ridgeway. The measure, upon voter approval, would replace all state income taxes with a sales and use tax. Watch a video clip of the resolution being presented to committee.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also met this week to begin work on the fiscal year 2011 budget after receiving the governor’s recommendations during his State of the State address on Jan. 20. Committee members will continue to meet throughout the weeks to come as they begin to develop their budget plan in conjunction with the House Budget Committee. The bills comprising the FY 2011 budget will eventually be debated, first in the House and then in the Senate (all appropriations bills originate in the House).

Fiscal year 2010 ends June 30, 2010. Fiscal year 2011 begins July 1, 2010, and runs through June 30, 2011. The Legislature must send a final state budget for FY 2011 to the governor by May 7, 2010.

Listen to the Senate Minute’s report on the budget.

The Missouri Senate reconvenes at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 1. The Second Regular Session of the 95th Missouri General Assembly runs through Friday, May 14, 2010.

This legislative update is written on a weekly basis. To follow these and other issues facing the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. Visitors can track legislation as it passes through the General Assembly, learn more about their district, or listen to streaming audio of legislative debate as it happens. For more legislative news, please visit the Senate Newsroom. There you will find various audio and video programs and other services, such as:  

• Missouri Legislative Update  (MLU) – A video program produced periodically throughout the year that provides an overview of the news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives. The program features news interviews with lawmakers and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
• Capital Dialogue  – Missourinet's Bob Priddy hosts this monthly half-hour roundtable program bringing legislators together from the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives from different political parties to discuss their positions on specific issues and legislation.
• This Week in the Missouri Senate  – A weekly five-minute audio program that wraps up the week’s news in the Missouri Senate. Programs are posted online every Friday in .mp3 format.
• Senate Minute  – A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news. Programs are posted in .mp3 format and are available through podcast. All four of these programs give listeners the option of subscribing via podcast.
• Daily Audio / Video Clips – Throughout the year, the Senate Newsroom posts broadcast-quality audio and video highlights from Senate committee hearings, floor debate, press conferences and other legislative events.
• Daily News Clips – The Senate Newsroom compiles daily news clips from various print and online publications that cover issues relating to the Legislature and state government. An archive of past clips is maintained online and is offered as a subscription service.

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