The Missouri Senate convened on Wednesday for the 2014 legislative session. The first two days were spent introducing bills and assigning them to various committees. Much of our work in the coming weeks will be done in legislative hearings, where we consider testimony on proposed measures. Legislation will then slowly make its way to the floor for debate.

Every session is an opportunity—to strengthen our state government, to improve the services we provide, and to better the lives of our citizens. As always, my top priority will be doing what’s best for the residents of our district.

To this end, I’ve already filed a handful of bills aimed at resolving issues in the 20th District. One of my measures deals with a problem that has long plagued our area:  sinkholes. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand numerous sinkholes in our region—some small, some large enough to swallow a house. These geological disasters pose a serious risk to citizens and their personal property.

We’re particularly vulnerable to sinkholes in southwest Missouri, because our state has what’s known as a karst landscape, a geological formation caused by subterranean drainage wearing away carbonate rock, like limestone, which our state has in abundance. The Ozark Plateau, upon which our district sits, is one of the largest karst regions in the nation.

Senate Bill 691 would require homeowner insurance companies to offer sinkhole coverage. If the company does not cover damage caused by sinkholes, it has to be noted on the policy. To be clear, the bill in no way mandates that people have sinkhole insurance; it simply requires insurance companies to at least offer it as an option. I’ve filed this bill in previous years, and I still believe residents in areas with a high risk of sinkholes, such as ours, should be offered insurance coverage for these disasters.  

I’ve also filed legislation dealing with optometry insurance. Under current state law, insurance companies can dictate to optometrist offices the cost of services and materials the insurance companies don’t cover. For example, if you need eye surgery, but it’s not covered under your insurance, the price you pay for that eye surgery will have been partially decided by the insurance company.

We dealt with nearly the exact same issue last year regarding dental services. My legislation is similar to the bill we passed resolving that problem. Senate Bill 692 would prohibit insurance companies from setting the prices of optometric services and materials they don’t cover.

In addition, I’m sponsoring legislation regarding the Greene County 911 Board. Since its creation, members of the board have been appointed to their positions. The system has worked well, and there is no justifiable reason to change it. Senate Bill 690 would just preserve the current appointment process.

There are a number of other issues we will also be dealing with this year, including the ongoing problems associated with a state law that allows students to transfer from an unaccredited district to an accredited district; revising the state’s criminal code (which hasn’t been done in nearly three decades); reinstating strong ethics laws to protect the integrity of our state government; and examining ways we can safeguard the Second Amendment rights of all Missourians.

I welcome your input as I work to represent the citizens of our district in the Missouri Senate, and will keep you updated each week on legislative events in the Capitol.

If you have any questions or comments about this or any other matter regarding your state government, please feel free to contact me at (573) 751-1503; you are also welcome to e-mail me at jay.wasson@senate.mo.gov.