JEFFERSON CITY — With one day left before the end of the Second Regular Session of the 96th General Assembly, those serving in the upper chamber remain focused on passing Senate bills through the Legislature and on to the governor’s desk for his approval.  In just two days, the Senate has delivered several bills to the highest member of the executive branch, with many more Senate and House measures waiting in the wings.

Senate Bill 576 changes Missouri’s current laws regarding how charter schools are operated, allowing charter schools to open in unaccredited districts, much like the St. Louis City and Kansas City school districts.  The act establishes specific criteria for these schools, including the length of terms, monitoring of academic performance, and creation of an annual application and approval process established by the Department of Education for all entities eligible to sponsor charter schools.  Senate Bill 576 also creates the Missouri Charter Public School Commission, a nine-member panel responsible for approving proposed charters for its sponsorship.

Also approved was a bill that establishes a procedure for resetting billboards during periods of highway construction.  Senate Bill 607 reinstates an August 1999 rule implementing a moratorium on the issuance of state sign permits for new sign structures, such as billboards, for sections of highways approved by the Highways and Transportation Commission that are scheduled for construction.  The legislation also outlines the procedure for existing sign structures on streets or highways approved for construction or reconstruction.

A bill designed to protect some of Missouri’s most vulnerable citizens pertaining to crimes committed against the elderly and disabled population in the state also received final approval this week.  Under current state law, it’s a crime of second degree elder abuse for a person to recklessly and purposely cause serious injury to an elderly person.  Senate Bill 689 changes this so a person who recklessly or purposefully causes such injury has committed the crime.  In addition, the measure adds “undue influence” to the types of acts that, when committed against an elderly or disabled citizen, constitutes the crime of financial exploitation.  This includes taking unfair advantage of a person’s vulnerable state of mind, neediness, pain or agony, as well as various types of fiduciary authority.

Senate Bill 563, an omnibus bill related to higher education, is now on the way to the governor’s desk.  The measure, sponsored by Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield, contains a provision found in a measure (SB 655) filed this year by Sen. Timothy Green, D-Spanish Lake.  This language, adopted as an amendment in the Missouri House of Representatives, creates the “Higher Education Capitol Fund,” which allows the General Assembly to appropriate matching funds to public colleges or universities for capital projects, under certain circumstances.  Senate Bill 563 also contains provisions relating to Alzheimer’s Disease research projects, the Missouri Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Initiative, and prohibiting higher education institutions not located in the Show-Me State from obtaining school-sponsored specialty license plates, among other acts.

Finally, legislation that allows the Adjutant General to waive the age limit for service in the state militia and repeals a complaint procedure for the state’s militia receives final passage in the General Assembly.  Currently, the maximum age for service in the state is 64.  Senate Bill 715, sponsored by Sen. Will Kraus, R-Lee’s Summit, changes the age limit based on a case-by-case scenario.  In addition, the bill prohibits higher education institutions from requiring Missouri National Guard members to take a test within 24 hours of returning from active duty or training.  The measure also changes how money from the Missouri Gaming Commission is allocated and prohibits the creation of a quality rating system for early childhood education unless the system is passed by lawmakers and enacted into law. 

To see a complete list of the bills “truly agreed to and finally passed” by the Missouri General Assembly, visit www.senate.mo.gov and click on the “Truly Agreed Bills” link under the “Legislation” tab.  To contact the Senate Newsroom, call (573) 751-3824 or email: newsroom@senate.mo.gov.