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JEFFERSON CITY— A proposed constitutional amendment allowing the retroactive application of DNA profiling laws may soon be put before voters after gaining initial approval from the Missouri Senate this week.
Senate Joint Resolution 20, sponsored by Sen. Matt Bartle (R-Lee’s Summit), seeks to create an exception to the constitutional ban on retroactive laws for the purpose of allowing DNA profiling laws to apply retroactively.
If passed by the Legislature, and then by voters, the proposed constitutional amendment would require individuals to provide a DNA sample for analysis and inclusion in the state’s DNA profiling system prior to any applicable laws being enacted. These laws include the inclusion of all felons in the database in 2005 and the recent addition of certain qualified arrestees and registered sex offenders in 2009.
Also receiving initial Senate approval this week was SB 627, sponsored by Sen. Jolie Justus (D-Kansas City), which would provide information regarding immunization for the human papillomavirus (HPV) to the parents or guardians of public school sixth-grade students. A second passing Senate vote sends both measures to the House for consideration.
Watch a video clip of Sen. Justus presenting SB 627 on the floor.
More and more bills are moving into the stage of the legislative process where they can receive final Senate approval and may be sent to the House for similar consideration. One such bill is comprehensive local government measure SB 580, sponsored by Sen. John Griesheimer (R-Washington). Most provisions contained in the bill are specific to certain Missouri cities and counties, but some would apply to the entire state.
A pair of bills relating to adoption and foster care in Missouri also received final Senate approval. Senate Bill 594, sponsored by Sen. Rita Heard Days (D-St. Louis), would require the state to provide—upon a birth parent’s request—both a contact preference and medical history form that may be filled out by the birth parent. This information would be attached to the original birth certificate of the adoptee.
Adopted individuals, who must be at least 18 and born in Missouri, would then be able to obtain a copy of their original birth certificate, as well as any of the other additional information that may be available. The adoptee must agree to abide by the birth parent's contact preference, if a preference is included with the birth certificate. Senate Bill 594 would apply to adoptions taking place after Aug. 28, 2010.
Also receiving final approval was SB 693, sponsored by Sen. Yvonne Wilson (D-Kansas City). The measure would establish a Foster Care and Adoptive Parents Recruitment and Retention Fund to promote foster care and adoption promotion recruitment programs in Missouri, as well as create a check-off on the Missouri individual and corporate income tax forms for contributions to the fund. The bill also would establish the Missouri State Foster Care and Adoption Board to provide consultation and assistance to the Department of Social Services relating to foster care and adoption in the state.
Additionally, SB 693 would require the state to make reasonable efforts to place siblings in the same foster care, kinship, guardianship, or adoptive placement. If not possible, reasonable efforts must be made for the siblings to visit each other frequently.
The Senate also gave final approval to SB 616, sponsored by Sen. Jack Goodman (R-Mt. Vernon), which would protect entities that provide health care services to low income individuals on a pre-paid basis and meet certain conditions from being considered engaging in the business of insurance and being subjected to health insurance laws.
Senate Bill 578, sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields (R-St. Joseph), is another measure gaining ground in the legislative process after receiving final passage by the Senate. The bill would allow port authority boards to establish port improvement districts to fund projects with voter-approved sales taxes or property taxes.
Debate also continued on bills that did not reach a vote, including SB 596, sponsored by Minority Floor Leader Sen. Victor Callahan (D-Independence), which would create the "Show-Me Small Business Act" and establish small business enterprise zones in parts of cities and counties throughout the state, and SB 577, sponsored by Sen. Shields, which would institute major ethics reform in the Legislature.
Listen to the Senate Minute’s report on SB 596.
Senate committees continued sending bills to the floor by passing a variety of measures this week, making them eligible for floor debate.
One bill now ready for floor debate is SB 610, sponsored by Sen. Tim Green (D-Spanish Lake), which was passed by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee this week. The bill would bar employers from requiring employees to disclose user names or passwords. Also passed by the committee was SB 801, sponsored by Sen. Scott T. Rupp (R-Wentzville), which would require credit reporting agencies to block any information in a consumer's credit report that resulted from identity theft.
Passed by the Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee was SJR 40, sponsored by Sen. Goodman. The measure is a constitutional amendment that would, if approved by voters, ensure the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot for elections and employee representation.
Also, Senate Bill 589, sponsored by Sen. Gary Nodler (R-Joplin), was voted out of the Senate Financial and Governmental Organizations and Elections Committee. The measure would bar felons from running for or holding public office.
Senate committees continue to maintain a full roster of public hearings, some of which included:
- Senate Bill 875, sponsored by Sen. Tom Dempsey (R-St. Charles), was heard in the Senate Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee. The bill would allow employers to pay employees under the age of 20, 75 percent of the state minimum wage rate as long as that wage is not less than the federal minimum wage. Employers could not displace other employees in order to hire individuals under the age limit.
- The Senate Education Committee heard two major bills this week. The first, SB 784, sponsored by Sen. Schaefer, would equalize the financial aid amounts available to private and public school students under the Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program for higher education. The second, SB 815, sponsored by Sen. Bartle, would allow school districts to adopt a year-round educational program, implement multiple start dates for kindergarten students, and allow all Missouri teachers to receive performance-based salary stipends.
And finally, important deadlines are approaching for senators, who must file all consent bills by Monday, Feb. 22 (consent bills need to be on the legislative calendar no later than Thursday, March 4). A consent bill is considered to be non-controversial by a committee and can only be amended by said committee. Also, March 1 is the last day to file Senate bills for consideration this session.
The Missouri Senate reconvenes at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22. 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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