The Senate Appropriations Committee worked throughout the week on mark ups of House Bills 2001 through 2013, the legislation that makes up our state budget. Appropriations Committee hearings are scheduled for next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Following discussion of the remaining open items, the bills will be reported to the Senate floor for debate.

House Bill 2014, which appropriates money for supplemental purposes, was truly agreed to and finally passed on Tuesday, April 8.

On Wednesday, April 9, I was honored to introduce members of the Boys and Girls Club to my colleagues in the Senate chamber. With the group were board members Joe Miller, Wally Pfeifer, and Bob Drainer, and club member Chareon Hickem. I presented a resolution to club member Miles Gibson, who was named State Youth of the Year. Congratulations, Miles!

My office was very busy throughout Wednesday. I had the pleasure of meeting with several constituents associated with the Missouri Autism Coalition who were in the Capitol for Autism Awareness Day. Also in my office were pharmacists, Missouri athletic trainers, and veterans from throughout the state. Thank you to each group and individual who took the time to stop by my office!

The status of my sponsored legislation for the 2014 session is as follows:

• Senate Bill 498, which would require health insurance navigators to be bonded and create a private cause of action against navigators for the unlawful release of information, has been second read in the House. Representative Kevin Austin is handling the bill in the House for me.
  
  
• Senate Bill 696, which increases the penalties and driver’s license suspension periods for those who fail to yield the right-of-way in certain instances, was approved by the Senate on Thursday, March 27. The bill awaits committee referral in the House.
  
  
• Senate Bill 697, which allows the Department of Revenue to disclose the annual number of cigarettes sales by the tobacco manufacturer, was second read and referred to the Appropriations Committee.  A hearing was held on the bill on Monday, Feb. 10. 
  
  Currently, the Department of Revenue is prohibited from disclosing information relating to a person's tax return, with certain exceptions under Section 32.057, RSMo. This legislation opens the confidentiality section and creates an exception allowing the Department of Revenue to disclose to the public the annual cigarette sales by a tobacco product manufacturer.
  
  The legislation would provide government transparency and availability of data that is otherwise difficult to obtain and readily assemble. Existence of public information may provide state legislators with insight on growth or decline in the state smoking population and its potential effect on future state revenues.

• Senate Bill 733, which reduces the rate of tax on personal income over a period of five years, was heard in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Thursday, Feb. 13.

• Senate Bill 756, which would modify the elementary and secondary education funding formula by adding an additional weight for gifted education, awaits a hearing in the Education Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 762, which defines automobile event data recorder and limits the release of data collected to five circumstances, was passed by Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It awaits possible debate on the Senate floor.  
  
  
• Currently, trustees of a county hospital formed under Chapter 205 are prohibited from providing health care services or entering into partnerships with other local or county hospitals if such adjoining or nearby counties also have a county hospital.  Under Senate Bill 763, so long as the trustees of such county hospitals provide consent, county hospitals in Boone and Cooper counties shall be allowed to provide such health care services or enter into such partnerships.  The bill awaits a hearing in the Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 820, which modifies the formula for determining how much money a tobacco product manufacturer that does not participate in the Master Settlement Agreement will receive back from the escrow fund when the manufacturer is required to deposit money from the sale of cigarettes, was voted out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, March 25, and awaits possible debate on the Senate floor.
  
  
• Senate Bill 821, which adds a motorcycle registration surcharge of $5 to be deposited in the motorcycle safety trust fund, was voted do pass by the Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday, March 12. The bill awaits possible debate on the Senate floor.
  
  
• Senate Bill 843, which modifies provisions of the Missouri Sunshine Law, was heard in the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday, March 10.
  
  
• Senate Bill 855, which allows fire protection district boards to meet without public notice in order to authorize the disbursement of funds for the deployment of certain emergency task forces, awaits a hearing in the Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee.  
  
  
• Senate Bill 861, which establishes certain protections and remedies for consumers who purchase new motorcycles, was heard in the Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment Committee on Tuesday, March 11, and awaits a final vote to proceed to the floor for possible debate.
  
  
• Senate Bill 886, which provides civil actions between a landlord and a tenant are appealable, awaits a hearing in the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 887, which requires each public institution of higher education to annually report the institution’s administrative costs as a percent of its operating budget, was voted do pass by the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday, March 26, and awaits possible debate on the Senate floor.  
  
  
• Senate Bill 898, which allows the Department of Corrections to determine the manner of executions rather than requiring executions be by lethal gas or injection, awaits a hearing in the Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 908, which modifies the composition of the University of Missouri Board of Curators, awaits a hearing in the Education Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 936, which allows Boone County to adopt, by order or ordinance; regulations to control the minimum standards of occupancy for residential units rented or leased and in additional develop a program for licensing and inspecting the units, awaits a hearing inthe Senate Jobs, Economic Development and Local Government Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 937, which allows the county counselor of Boone County to receive $15,000 for duties relating to mental health and mental health facility and an additional amount not to exceed $15,000 for investigative and clerical personnel assisting with such duties, awaits a hearing in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs and Health Committee.  
  
  
• Senate Bill 979, which modifies the eligibility for line of duty compensation for emergency personnel, awaits a hearing in the Small Business, Insurance and Industry Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 980, which relates to rehiring retired state employees, awaits a hearing in the Senate Seniors, Families and Pensions Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 981, which relates to state contracting, awaits a hearing in the Senate Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee.
  
  
• Senate Bill 982, which relates to penalties for sex offenses, awaits a hearing in the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee.

• Senate Joint Resolution 36, which modifies constitutional provisions regarding the right to keep and bear arms, was voted and passed by the Senate on Thursday, Feb. 20. The bill was heard in the House General Laws Committee on Tuesday, April 1.  Representative John Diehl is handling this bill for me in the House.

• Senate Joint Resolution 44 is a constitutional amendment that, if approved by the voters, would require any revenue received by the state in a fiscal year in excess of the amount appropriated for such fiscal year shall be returned to taxpayers in the form of a refundable tax credit.  The bill awaits a vote by the Senate Ways and Means Committee to proceed to the full Senate for possible debate.

• House Bill 2014, the supplemental budget bill, delivered to the governor on Thursday, April 10.

Did you know...?

The letters O.S. appearing after dates, such as on Thomas Jefferson's tombstone, stand for "Old Style."  The Julian or Old Style calendar was in effect in England and her colonies until 1752, when the Gregorian, or New Style, calendar was adopted. This added 11 days to the current date to bring the calendar year into step with the astronomical year. Thus, the birthday of Jefferson, who was born on April 2 under the Old Style calendar, is now celebrated on April 13, the New Style date. The New Style calendar is still in use today.

The Julian calendar, adopted under Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., calculated the year as 365 ¼ days. This was eleven minutes and fourteen seconds too long, so that by 1582, the calendar and astronomical year were no longer synchronized, and the vernal equinox occurred on March 11. Pope Gregory XIII suppressed 10 days to make the equinox fall on March 21. Most Catholic countries immediately adopted the new calendar. England and her colonies did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until September 2, 1752, by which time 11 days had to be deleted.