Committees Prepare for Final Reports

JEFFERSON CITY – Legislative committee work wraps up as 2013 prepares to come to a close.  And with just a few weeks left until the 2014 legislative session begins, senators focus on the new year by prefiling more than 30 bills.

In early November, members of the Joint Committee on Solid Waste Management District Operations, chaired by Sen. Wayne Wallingford, R-Cape Girardeau, held its final regular hearing.  The panel was created by the passage of House Bill 28, which was passed by lawmakers and signed into law by the governor this year.   Members are responsible for examining solid waste management district operations, including their efficiency, efficacy, and reasonableness of costs and expenses to Missouri taxpayers.  The committee’s final report, along with its recommendations for any legislative action deemed necessary, must be submitted to the General Assembly by Dec. 31, 2013.  Those serving on the panel include Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia; Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale; Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City; and Sen. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City.

Senator Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, chairs the Sentencing and Corrections Oversight Commission, which also held its final meeting in early November to prepare for the commission’s final report.  Charged with monitoring and assisting the implementation of various statutes pertaining to the Department of Corrections, commission members — including Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City; two members from the House of Representatives, and other officials, many from the judicial field — must submit their report to the Legislature by Dec. 31, 2013, which includes any possible changes to sentencing and corrections policies and statutes in Missouri.

This Week in the Missouri Senate for Nov. 14, 2013, includes Sen. Dixon discussing the role of the Sentencing and Corrections Oversight Commission. 

Work continued this month on the Joint Interim Committee on St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Governance and Taxation.  Created by House Concurrent Resolution 25, the committee is responsible for reviewing an independent study that examines tax increment financing, the sales tax pool between St. Louis City and St. Louis County, and the St. Louis Boundary Commission.  Panel members, which include Sen. John Lamping, R-Ladue; Sen. Brian Nieves, R-Washington; Sen. Schmitt; Sen. Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis; Sen. Gina Walsh, D-Bellefontaine Neighbors; and five members from the House, must then conduct a comprehensive analysis of the taxation and governance issues facing the St. Louis MSA.  Much of the discussion during the committee’s mid-November meeting focused on commissioning an independent study; the panel’s report is due no later than Dec. 31, 2013.

This Week in the Missouri Senate for Nov. 14, 2013, includes Sen. Walsh talking about a common misperception about the joint committee.

The Senate Interim Committee on Medicaid Transformation and Reform used its meeting time in mid-November as a work session to consider final recommendations to issue to the full Senate before the end of the year.  Since the conclusion of the 2013 regular legislative session, committee members focused on the panel’s main objectives:

• Develop methods to prevent fraud and abuse in Missouri’s MO HealthNet system;
• Give advice on how to achieve more efficient and cost-effective ways to provide coverage for MO HealthNet participants;
• Evaluate how coverage for MO HealthNet participants can resemble commercially available health care plans while complying with federal Medicaid requirements;
• Provide possible ways to promote healthy behavior by encouraging patients to take ownership of their health care and seek early preventive care;
• Give advice on the best manner in which to provide incentives, including a shared risk and savings to health plans and their providers in order to encourage cost-effective delivery of care; and
• Share ways in which individuals currently receiving medical care coverage through MO HealthNet can transition to obtain their health coverage through the private sector.

Chairman Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington; vice chairman Sen. David Sater, R-Cassville; Sen. Dan Brown, R-Rolla; Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff; Sen. Rob Schaaf, R-St. Joseph; Sen. Wallingford; Sen. Jay Wasson, R-Nixa; Sen. Keaveny; Sen. Paul LeVota, D-Independence; and Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, are required to issue a report and make recommendations to the General Assembly no later than Dec. 15, 2013.

This Week in the Missouri Senate for Nov. 21, 2013, includes reflections from Sen. Schaaf and Sen. Nasheed regarding the committee’s final recommendations.

Lawmakers are preparing for the upcoming legislative session by prefiling measures for 2014.  Although senators could start prefiling their bills on July 1, this prefiled legislation does not receive bill numbers until Dec. 1.  More than 30 measures have already been prefiled in the Senate, including a more than 1,000-page bill that would restructure Missouri’s criminal code, legislation that would require a voter to show a photo ID before casting a ballot at the polls, a bill pertaining to property tax credits, and a measure addressing violence prevention education in K-12 schools.    A complete list of prefiled bills in the Missouri Senate will be available online (www.senate.mo.gov) in early December.

The Senate Minute for Nov. 26, 2013, and This Week in the Missouri Senate for Nov. 27, 2013, show how senators are looking ahead to some of the issues that may be the focus during the Second Regular Session of the 97th General Assembly.

The Missouri Senate’s Capitol Briefing will be distributed and posted monthly throughout the interim.  For more legislative news, please visit the Senate newsroom at www.senate.mo.gov/newsroom, where you will find various audio and video programs and other informational services, such as:

• Missouri Legislative Update – A video program produced throughout the legislative session and interim that provides an overview of news in the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives.  The program features news interviews with lawmakers conducted by Missourinet’s Bob Priddy and stories on issues concerning Missourians.
• 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.
• The Senate Minute – A condensed, one-minute audio report of current Senate news.  Programs are posted in .mp3 format and are available through 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.  Please note: Clips linked to this Capitol Briefing are only available for the legislative week referenced in the publication.