JEFFERSON CITY—The Missouri Senate stands adjourned this week for its annual mid-session recess. Lawmakers will return to the Capitol next week to begin the second half of the legislative session.
Forty-four Senate bills have been passed by the Senate and sent to the House for consideration as of last week’s adjournment—12 are consent bills and 32 are regular bills. Some of the Senate bills currently in the House include SB 577 , sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Charlie Shields, R-St. Joseph (institutes ethics reform in state government); SB 614 , sponsored by Sen. Yvonne Wilson, D-Kansas City (expands the definition of bullying to include “cyberbullying” and electronic communications in school policies); and SB 580 , sponsored by Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington (changes provisions relating to local governments). Conversely, 16 House bills have been sent to the Senate for approval.
Of the 491 Senate bills introduced this legislative session, 102 have been passed by their respective Senate committees. In addition, of the 26 Senate joint resolutions introduced this year, seven have been passed by a Senate committee and one has received first-round approval from the Senate (SJR 20 , sponsored by Sen. Matt Bartle, R-Lee’s Summit, which would allow certain laws pertaining to DNA profiling analysis to be applied retroactively).
Two House bills have thus far received “truly agreed and finally passed” status, which means they were approved by both chambers in their final form and sent to the governor’s desk for his signature.
House Bill 1544 , which was handled in the Senate by Sen. David Pearce (R-Warrensburg), extends the payment of unemployment benefits as long as the state is reimbursed 100 percent by the federal government, as well as extends the Shared Work Unemployment Compensation Program eligibility period from 26 weeks to 52 weeks.
Also sent to the governor was HB 1540 , handled in the Senate by Sen. Jason Crowell (R-Cape Girardeau). The bill, which was signed into law by the governor last month, requires judicial procedures for an infraction to be the same as those for a misdemeanor. It also requires motorists to obey reasonable signals and directions given by law enforcement in the enforcement of such infractions.
These two bills have received the governor’s signature, enacting them into law (both bills contained an emergency clause).
When lawmakers return to the Capitol next week, they will be turning their attention to the state budget for fiscal year 2011, which must be submitted to the governor by May 7 under Missouri’s Constitution.
Listen to This Week in the Missouri Senate’s report on the second half of the legislative session.
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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